Sonic Forces - Infinite Possibilities
by StarryBite
Summary: An expansion/retelling of the original story presented by Sonic Forces, adding on to the lore surrounding the events of the war. The heroes have been overwhelmed by an army of old foes, Sonic is presumed dead, and Eggman has claimed the world for himself. It's up to those few heroes who remain to take it back. They won't be working alone, of course- new faces have risen up to help!
1. Chapter 1

_"__Sonic...how I hate him. All of that loathing has been focused into this invincible instrument of war. Every defeat, __**every **__humiliation at the hedgehog's hands will be returned a thousandfold. __With the power I've managed to conjure, Sonic's days on this planet are numbered. This is my dream come true! With this invention, I can expand the Eggman Empire across the glo__b__e and conquer the world. Mwa...mwahahahahahahahaha!"_

Even the most peaceful of sanctuaries aren't safe from the intrusion of combat. The flora and fauna of an island paradise were quite content with their continued daily life before the storm came, with the animals casually grazing on the lush green grass and the palm trees stretching towards the sun. As it was a hot day for the hilly area, many of the small creatures, content with their green meal, crowded around the many waterfalls and pools that the land provided.

A few of the animals were sent skidding across the grass when a body much larger than theirs suddenly rushed past. The movement brought a fierce gust of wind, which threatened to pull the pudgy critters into the air. Each of the animals immediately looked to get a glimpse at the sudden passerby, but cowered upon seeing another group of bodies suddenly fly by. Due to them being slower than the first, these speeding entities were easy for the animals they were disturbing to see – though they weren't pleased in the slightest by that fact.

The swarm of bodies happened to be a horde of flying robots – all resembling that of a wasp. Their metallic bodies were exaggerated in a cartoonish way, though there was no denying the threatening look of the rifles jutting out of their gasters. Each of their beady eyes sharpened as the group grew closer to their target, who continued to speed at a pace almost unnaturally fast. Upon tailing the fleeing creature enough to consider it within firing range, the robots began to analyze the entity's form.

What had been running from the group of robots the entire time was a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog. As strange as a concept that may have seemed to some, the robots immediately recognized this anomaly. From the long, fin-shaped quills to the peach-colored arms and belly, and to the signature red shoes that kept his feet covered while he ran, these trademark attributes immediately put the robots on guard.

"Subject S-62391 has been spotted." One of the leading robots announced. "Deploying initial strike formation." The robot that spoke suddenly flipped its body around, pointing its stinger at the sprinting hedgehog's back. Its allies, meanwhile, left it to raise their altitude – flying high overhead. "Engage!"

The hedgehog's green eyes suddenly flashed to the corner of his vision as he heard his pursuer announce its intentions. Just as the robot would have rocketed into his back and sent him flying into the air, the blue blur suddenly hopped into the air, allowing the attacker to fly underneath him. Before the machine could even process what was happening, its opponent swung down with all his might, crushing the insect-like head and leaving the body to fall to the ground with a clang.

"Do they really not program you scrap heaps right? The name isn't some serial number, it's **Sonic**!" The hedgehog called, finally acknowledging the group of drones following him.

The sound of robots hovering through the air only grew louder as Sonic sprinted further through the hilly, grassy area he considered his home. "Huh...I don't remember there being this many buzz bombers that'd normally patrol Green Hill." He muttered, glancing up at the dozens of purple, wasp-shaped drones that swarmed over him. The hedgehog was forced to press a hand against his forehead to block out the glaring sunlight. In the distance, he could see a horde of land-dwelling machines marching along the grass – trampling flowers in their wake. "I don't remember a bunch of egg pawns hanging out here, either. You guys sure you don't have the wrong meeting place?"

He was immediately put on edge when the robots above him suddenly turned to the side – pointing their 'stingers' at him. The cone-shaped weapons began to grow a bright red – much to his dismay. "Right...less talk more action!" Sonic shouted, leaping out of the way of three brightly-colored energy shots that had rocketed towards him. His reaction was swift and punishing; the hedgehog leaped into the air, before rocketing straight into one of the drones. From the miniature explosion came Sonic in his curled-up, balled form, racing towards another one of the flying wasps. One after another each of his opponents were dealt a swift end by his attack.

"Alright, still got it!" The blue hedgehog chuckled as he landed on the ground. As he began to brush some debris from his arms, he heard a sudden beeping noise emitting from one of his hands. Looking down, Sonic noticed a wrist communicator attached to his glove. "World's fastest hedgehog speaking. I'm guessing you're not doing so hot on your end, either?" He called upon pressing a button atop his glove.

"How'd you guess?" A high-pitched, boyish voice gasped. His voice was a little harder to make out due to the compression and sound quality of the transceiver, but Sonic was able to recognize its owner quite easily.

"Didn't I ever tell you? I've actually been a psychic this whole time! I can read your mind even from over here." The hedgehog replied. He began to pick up the momentum as he spoke – breaking out into a sprint while holding the communicator close to his face.

"What!? No way! That's so-" Sonic felt a smirk creep its way across his lips as he heard the other person grow silent for a moment. "Quit lying!" They protested with a whine. "Anyway, Eggman's forces are surging into the city. We need you here right now!"

"Alright, Tails! I'm on my-" Sonic was quickly cut off by the sudden approach of the robots he saw earlier. The horde of brightly-colored, egg-shaped robots took a swing at him with their fists, beeping at him with malicious intent. "Whoa!" The hedgehog cried, ducking underneath one of his attackers. He landed a sharp kick to the back of its head, before hopping over the closest robot and swinging the heel of his foot over the head of another. Each robot was flattened or reduced to scrap by his powerful blows. "Alright, Tails! I'm on my w-"

Sonic let out a cry as one of the egg pawns landed a hard punch to the distracted hedgehog's back. He was sent stumbling forward, but slid across the ground and spun around – kicking up a bit of grass and dirt as he did so. With a grunt, the boy curled up into a ball and began to spin in place, forming a small cloud of dust behind him. After a few moments he let himself loose, which resulted in him shooting through the chests of three different pawns.

"Sonic, are you okay?" Tails called over the line. His companion didn't immediately acknowledge him, as he was busy ducking underneath a robot's punch. The hedgehog cried out as he tore the limb from its body, before bashing the severed limb against its former owner, as well as several other of the pawns.  
"AlrightTailsI'monmyway!" Sonic shouted as fast as he could into his wrist, before switching the transceiver off. He then leaped into the air and used his signature homing attack to wipe out the last few egg pawns in his path. "Phew…! You guys are getting tougher. I'm not getting any younger, either..." The still youthful-hedgehog panted. After shaking his head and stretching a bit more, Sonic blasted off – running forwards at blistering speeds. His acceleration was almost inhumane.

"This is it for Green Hill, so the city must be close." He muttered under his breath as the hills around him slowly grew less steep, before flattening into a grassy field. Creeping over the horizon were the tops of buildings and other landmarks belonging to the people of Sunset Heights City. Even from a distance, Sonic could see and hear the signs of combat from the area. What was normally a peaceful seaside township had become a warzone. "Okay, Egghead...wanna pick a fight? Let's see whatcha got!" The hedgehog suddenly cried out. His form quickly grew smaller and smaller from the view of the scrapped robots he left behind.

Fire had broken out in the town square as a squad of egg pawns broke through the blockade set up by the townsfolk – unleashing their lasers and grenades upon the locals. Initially the few who knew how to fight attempted to hold their ground against the robotic invaders, but any semblance of order they might have had quickly escalated into chaos. Screaming, frantic, and panicked, those who weren't struck down by lasers or successful in scrambling into one of the few other exits their former haven had were shepherded into a group by the robots. One by one the arrested villagers were forced onto their knees and had their hands cuffed behind their backs. Loud sobs could be heard from the youngest and most frightened of the group.

As an egg pawn pulled away from the last of the prisoners to be apprehended and restrained, something bashed itself against the robot's side so forcefully, the metal husk was sent flying to the side. The townsfolk watched with wide eyes as a newcomer suddenly landed where their captor once stood – standing proudly atop the rubble.

The one who attacked the robot was, admittedly, quite smaller than anyone would have anticipated. He couldn't have been a fox that was a day older than eight, what with his stubby legs, wide childish eyes, and energetic demeanor. His orange and white fur was the perfect canvas for the shadows and light of fire to dance across. Everything about the boy was bold and outlandish to the city folk, but what was most outstanding was the fact that he had not one – but two long, flowing tails. They whipped at the air in preparation, moving as if they had minds of their own.

"Looks like you all could use a little help!" The young boy called, waving to the prisoners. He then spun around, glaring at a few robots that had already begun to approach. "Everyone, get back! This could get ugly!" Just as several egg pawns fired at he where he stood, the fox lunged forward, rolling across the ground and out of the way. A loud whir could be heard after he curled up into a ball – his tails flailing at the air while he spun quickly in place.

With a loud screeching sound accompanying his release, Tails rocketed straight towards one of invading robots. He managed to hit them squarely in the chest, knocking them over and allowing him to use its body to throw himself into the air. The fox soared over another one of the egg pawns, lashing his tails over its head and crushing the weak metal armor keeping its internal workings protected.

The intervening hero was quickly cut short in his rampage when a series of chrome-colored egg pawns aimed their hands at them, before quickly transforming them into massive blasters. A series of bright-red balls of energy shot towards the fox, forcing him to duck, dodge, and dance around while he fought desperately for his life. It took everything he had to avoid those glowing projectile shots.

An egg pawn suddenly appeared to the fox's right. The robot dealt a merciless and swift punch to his opponent's side – sending the boy rolling across the ground. Those who were handcuffed and watching in awe suddenly felt their hearts sink as their supposed savior returned to them covered in dirt and scratches. "Ow..." He sniffled, shakily rising to her feet. "Th-They landed a good hit...b-but I'm just warming up!" While the boy psyched himself up for another round with the robots, however, the enemy forces moved in quickly. The crowd joined their sole defender in staring at the chromatic egg pawns, who were lining themselves in front of them. A clicking could be heard as their weapons readied to fire.

'N-No…! There's too many of them, and now I'm at a disadvantage!' The fox thought to himself, clutching a stinging scrape on his arm while he regained his breath. 'What am I gonna do? What would Sonic do? C'mon, Tails...think!' Yet all he could think about was the barrel of the cannon pointed directly at his head. Sweat trickled down his face as he stared down inevitability.

A change in the winds caused not only the crowd of prisoners to look around, but the robots as well. It felt as if there was another presence among them in the city square – invisible to the naked eye. The identity of the additional newcomer was made clear when a spinning blue ball suddenly shot past the firing squad. As they moved past the ball suddenly reeled towards the right, resulting in them running into and wiping out the robot serving as the end of the line.

The spinning ball suddenly leaped into the air, before unfurling for the crowd to reveal his full body. Their rescuer was none other than Sonic the Hedgehog. "Hey, tin cans! I think you've got the wrong guy!" He shouted, gaining the attention of the other robots. They immediately unleashed a barrage of fire at the hedgehog, who ducked and dodged in the air. It was clear that the freedom fighter was always in control of his movements – even while off the ground.

"Sorry I'm late! Is everyone okay?" Sonic asked the fox as he landed atop one of the egg pawns – resulting in its comrades to tear through its body with cannon-fire. He then spin dashed into another of the robots.

"Sonic, finally!" Tails gasped. With the opportunity available to him, the fox ran into the fray once again, this time with the advantage of an ally. "The city's getting torn apart because of Eggman's forces, and you're not gonna like it when I tell you who I saw..." He suddenly whipped his tails against an egg pawn, sending them flying. "But everyone here in this specific plaza? Yeah they're fine." The boy used his appendages to grab one of the robots, and threw them in Sonic's direction so he could deal a decisive finishing blow. "I know you like being fashionably late, but isn't this cutting it a little close!?" From one glance around the fiery plaza, one would feel the smaller of the two was justified in his line of questioning.

"Sorry bud, I'll always be chasing after those style points." The hedgehog replied. He grabbed a hold of one of the robots, before slapping it so hard it was sent spinning in place. "Heads up!" Sonic then knocked the egg pawn in Tails' direction, which resulted in the boy easily crushing it with his useful twin tails. "It's just how I roll!" After noticing the last of the enemies being pinned down by his companion, he rushed in and homing-attacked into it, defeating the last of the horde.

"Phew…! What a workout!" Sonic chuckled, dusting off his hands. Tails, who had fallen to the ground from the force of his friend's finishing blow, was forced to help himself to his feet. "So what's this about Eggman tearing apart the city? It really is a full-on attack, huh?" The small orange fox nodded eagerly.

"Yeah! Dropships flew in from the eastern side of the city and let loose a bunch of these egg pawns. The whole place has been in chaos ever since!" He explained, his small hands balled into fists. "I only just showed up myself, and I'm already overwhelmed. I know Eggman's been attacking cities along the coast, but he didn't have to go all out here!"

"Yeah, well, that old egg sure is petty." Sonic huffed, brushing himself off. "Green Hill's definitely my favorite go-to place, so of course he's gonna trash it whenever he can!" Tails rolled his eyes in response. "Anyway, we're gonna show that slob why we're the heroes around here, right?" He asked, holding his fist out to his companion.  
"Hahaha, yeah!" Tails cheered, bumping his fist against the hedgehog's.

"Hohohoho…! That's what you think, is it!?" A voice suddenly rang out. The source had come from far in the air over them, causing Sonic and Tails to look up.

"Oh, great." Sonic sighed as he watched a large, half-sphere vehicle lower into the square. As the hovering machine reached the ground and floated a few feet over the rubble, its pilot became clear for all to see. The man was, oddly enough, a human. He was hefty, overweight, and wider at the bottom of his torso than he was at the top. In all honesty, he bore a striking similarity to an egg. The only signs of hair was the long, bristling mustache that stretched past the sides of his head.

"Perfect, just the jerk I wanted to speak with. You've got some explaining to do, Eggman!" Sonic called. Tails nodded in agreement. After receiving a shifty glance from his blue companion, the fox turned and ran back to the crowd of prisoners. He began ushering them into an alleyway, giving them time to flee from the area.

"Hohoho, Sonic...is an explanation really all that necessary?" Eggman questioned, raising an eyebrow as he grimaced. "I've said this many times before, but this is truly where it all changes. Our time together as adversaries ends here!" The doctor watched his opponent begin to stretch his limbs with anticipation. "Say your prayers, Sonic! Behold the power of my ultimate masterpiece!"

"You talk big game, but I don't see what's changed. Why don't you show me, up close and personal?" The hedgehog replied. He suddenly charged forward, smirking as he leaped into the air and readied to homing-attack the vehicle. Tails, who had just finished ushering the other townspeople out of the plaza, turned to watch with excitement. Seeing his best friend show up the arrogant mad scientist was always a treat for him.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Sonic noticed something approaching him at a near-blinding speed. With enough sense to cut his losses on attacking the doctor's vehicle, he dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way of whatever had come charged towards him. Sonic watched as a large, red and black, lizard-like horned creature slammed into the ground next to him – breaking apart brick and concrete with his landing.

The fight was instant. As soon as the creature knew where Sonic was, he let out a mighty roar and swung with all the strength he could muster. His opponent was fast, however, and quickly ducked underneath his right hook before ducking behind him. Glancing around angrily, it wasn't until he looked down at his own body that the lizard-like foe noticed Sonic laying between his feet, his hands held behind his head. Much to the monster's anger, he seemed completely calm.

"Hey, Zavok." Sonic greeted, batting his eyes innocently at the red brawler. His opponent moved to stomp his face in with one of his large, flat feet, but the hedgehog was easily able to roll out of the way and behind him once again. "Listen Eggman, I like Zavok as much as the next guy, but the "former" leader of the Deadly Six doesn't sound masterpiece material to me." He called.

"Do not **mock me**, you little blue runt!" Zavok hissed. His voice was deep and guttural, one fitting for the apparent leader of a team. "I'll flatten you with my bare hands!" He took another heavy swing at Sonic, who once again easily sped out of the relatively slow monster's way. The two continued their one-sided exchange while the hedgehog continued to taunt.

"Actually, now that I think about it, don't you hate Eggman? And all living things on earth, of course, but **mostly** Eggman? What's with the sudden team-up?" He asked.

"Why must you assault my ears with your constant talking!?" Zavok shouted. The monster swung his fists down as quickly as he could – causing the ground in front of him to shatter. As specks of debris were scattered across the area around them, Zavok looked up to see Sonic land atop his hands. His opponent took a moment to wag his finger cockily.

"Well, I can always just hit you instead!" The hedgehog offered. He then unleashed a powerful kick to Zavok's right cheek, causing him to grunt in pain and fall backwards. Sonic smirked as he heard Tails cheer at the sight of his enemy landing hard on his back. "Well buddy, it was a nice little reunion, but I've got an egg to scramble." The hedgehog turned to his right, only to find someone standing in front of them.

Sonic stared directly into the glowing red eyes of a robotic hedgehog – modeled almost completely in his image. The robot seemed to emit an aura of total loathing. It swung at the hero the moment their eyes made contact, but even he hadn't gotten enough of a jump on Sonic.

"Oh hi Metal Sonic." Sonic greeted nonchalantly, ducking underneath their arm. He fell back onto his hands, allowing him to deliver a sharp kick to their chin. The hedgehog could only smirk as he watched Metal Sonic reel backwards while clutching its head. "You know, you **could** help!" Sonic called to Zavok. He hopped into a fighter's stance, an eager smile taunting both enemies. The fallen brawler growled as he pulled himself off the ground.

Zavok roared as sprinted forward, throwing all of his momentum in a punch that he aimed directly at Sonic's face. The hedgehog quickly tripped his opponent while side-stepping them. "Two on one, alright! I'd ask Tails to hop in and make it a one-on-one, but that just wouldn't be fair to you guys." He chuckled, hopping over Metal Sonic – who had just managed to recover from the surprise kick to the chin – as they flew in to tackle him.

The metallic hedgehog circled back around and made another dive, but a spin-dash from Sonic forced him to a stand-still. There Sonic stood, between an angered Zavok and a menacing robot, his brows furrowed in concentration while he sized up the situation. A movement from the weakest link gave Sonic the opportunity he needed. He curled into a ball and spun beneath Zavok's legs as he charged in, before kicking him hard in the back and sending him flying into Metal.

"Got any other curtain calls you wanna get out of the way, Eggman?" His question was immediately answered when a sudden impact to the back of his head sent Sonic stumbling forward. "W-Woah!" He cried, spinning into a ball and rolling across the ground to break his fall. The hedgehog quickly unfurled out of his spherical form so that he could get a look at his next opponent.

Much to Sonic's shock, standing a short distance away was a bipedal, green-eyed humanoid creature composed entirely of water. The hedgehog's eyes widened as he reached to pat where he had been struck. Part of his quills were wet, with water trickling down the pointed forms.

"Chaos?" Sonic called, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?" His question was answered the moment the watery creature lashed out at him – stretching his limbs long enough to reach and strike the hedgehog. "Whoa, whoa! Hold on a second! Time out!" Sonic cried, using his hands to form a T after dodging the melee attacks. Chaos retracted its limbs as it stared at the hedgehog expectantly.

"I understand why Metallic Madness and Sellout over there would be working together with Eggman, but **you**? What's the big idea?" He called. The watery creature continued to stare at him blankly. 'I really wish you had a face, that way I could at least **guess** what you're thinking…' Sonic thought to himself.

Those few moments were all the time Chaos seemingly allowed, as he quickly returned to throwing punches at him. "Hey, Tails? Did Knuckles ever hit you up and let you know that the **God of Destruction** is out and about again? Or that he's gone totally psycho!?" Sonic called, dashing away from the stretching limbs. He hopped over a few more, before spin-dashing towards his opponent once he saw an opening. The watery creature immediately dropped out of Sonic's range, forming a puddle while the hedgehog flew across the plaza.

Tails, who had grown more nervous with each introduction of a new adversary, felt his heart sink when he saw the most recent newcomer join the fray. "N-No, that doesn't make any sense! I thought Chaos was our friend…! He's supposed to be good!" The fox whispered. He felt the urge to leap in and help, but something stopped him. Something out of the corner of his eye…

"Okay, three on one, nothing I haven't seen before!" Sonic exclaimed. The hedgehog wasn't nearly as certain of himself as before – especially with the introduction of Chaos to the mix. He ducked as Metal attempted to swoop in once again. A swipe at his feet by Chaos forced Sonic to suddenly hop into the air, before landing atop one hand. With a confident grunt the hedgehog dropped himself to the ground, allowing him to charge up a spindash. He let loose and rocketed forward, hopping into the air as Metal made another grab for him from the ground. Determined to land a homing attack against Chaos's head – a surefire way of defeating the beast – Sonic aimed his sights on the water creature.

Just as he began to rocket forward, Sonic was cut short by the sudden intervention of Zavok. The red monster held up one of his thick forearms, blocking the hedgehog's attack and forcing him back into the air. "Hey! What gives?" Sonic protested. He was so preoccupied with his frustration with the three that he failed to notice something else encroaching on their fighting space.

"Sonic, look out!" Tails suddenly cried – having finally gained the strength to speak.

Tails' warning went entirely pointless, however, as Sonic was struck by the incoming attack all the same. Another body suddenly rammed into him while the hedgehog was exposed in the air. This sent him flying across the plaza. "Gah!" The hedgehog cried as he hit the ground, before rolling back several more feet into a pile of debris. Waves of pain surged from where the initial impact hit him. "Alright, who else did you invite…?" Sonic coughed, wiping dirt from his face as he rose to his feet.

The greatest shock yet was in store for Sonic. As the hedgehog lifted his head up to look ahead, he was surprised to find a black and red hedgehog, his arms crossed and his red eyes staring daggers into Sonic's green ones. This newcomer stood proudly as he watched Sonic's face morph into one of surprise. "Sh-Shadow? What are you doing!?" He cried, watching as the three other opponents joined their lackey. Shadow averted his eyes for a moment, his expression softening, but quickly hardened once again as he got into a fighter's stance.

"So, that's it, then." Sonic panted, glaring at them. "So two of my friends, two of my enemies..." He was cut off, however, when he heard another sound echo throughout the plaza. It was a strange, foreign sound – sounding completely unnatural. Due to him hearing it from above, the hedgehog looked up to see that a fifth person floated well above them.

The figure hovered in the sky, lording over Sonic and the others with his presence. His form was shrouded in silhouettes, making it impossible to truly tell what he looked like, but Sonic could make certain distinctions out of their appearance. This newcomer had a long, sharp, pointed face, with long strands of fur jutting out from the back of his head and whipping at the air. His fingers ended with sharp claws – matching the overtly pointy and dangerous look of his boots, collars, and ears. From his backside was a long, dark tail, which defied gravity just as easily as his hair.

Sonic's eyes narrowed in distrust as he watched the shadowy figure lower himself to the ground, placing himself directly in front of the team of four. This left him only a few yards away from the blue hedgehog himself. "Okay, scratch that...two of my friends, two of my enemies, and someone I don't even know..." Sonic growled. He grimaced while flicking his thumb against his nose – as if to challenge the newcomer.

The fight needed no prompting to continue. Sonic was eager to get the jump on this new opponent – desperately wanting to get even with him for his unnerving appearance. He dashed forward with his typical unmatched acceleration, only for the enemy to simply fly to his immediate right. There was no movement of his limbs, his entire body moved at once. This sudden and miraculous dodge caused Sonic to sprint right past the group of enemies, leaving him confused as he skidded to a halt.

"What the? I was so close, there was no way he should have been able to dodge that fast…!" Sonic muttered. As he moved to turn around, Metal lunged forward, landing a direct jab to his gut. The hedgehog let out a cry of pain, and spun backwards to avoid a kick to the side of the head by Shadow.

"Wh-What was that!? H-H-He dodged Sonic!" Tails gasped, ducking behind a large piece of debris while the battle continued. "There's no way...is he **faster** than him?" He let his eyes wander away from the fight, allowing him to look back at Eggman. To his amazement, the doctor was reclining in the leather chair of his vehicle. His calm appearance and smug grin was unfamiliar to Tails – a fight with him and his friends typically left the man on the edge of his seat.

Sonic ducked as the mysterious newcomer fired several laser shots from the palm of his hand – aiming directly at the hedgehog's head as he moved. Grunting as he side-stepped laser shots and enemies alike, Sonic eventually felt enough confidence to suddenly leap into the air and risk a homing attack. As he rocketed towards the fighter, however, he was dealt a swift and punishing blow to his back by Metal, sending him higher up than he anticipated. This moment of weakness allowed the mysterious figure to rocket upwards as well. He kicked Sonic hard in the stomach – sending him rocketing into a building.

A sharp cry of pain escaped Sonic as he hit the wall hard. "That's...not good…!" He gasped, falling out of the sky and flopping onto the ground. The hedgehog wasn't ready to give up just yet. "Alright, you've gotten my attention! You wanna fight? Bring it!" Sonic shouted as he leaped to his feet. The figure simply shook his head.

More lasers came from the hovering foe, causing Sonic to go into the defensive. He sprinted away from where he once stood, but didn't get far with the other four fighters ready to take action as well. Zavok immediately stormed into him, swinging a fist at Sonic. The hedgehog managed to block his fist with a kick of his own, before lunging forward and landing a sharp blow to his gut. Zavok was forced to take a moment to regain his breath while Sonic dashed away.

'Aim for that creep, he's the one orchestrating this entire fight!' The hedgehog thought to himself. He leaped into the air – making another attempt at rocketing into their body. His target quickly shot out of the way, leaving Metal in his place. "I'm supposed to be the fast one, you know!" Sonic shouted after throwing himself back to the ground.

Another homing attack, another dodge. This time Sonic's next opponent was waiting for him on the other side – perfectly calculating his movements. The hedgehog had to throw a punch at Chaos in the hopes of deterring them from standing in his way, but the watery creature was able to block both of his hands. "What the-? How are you doing that…!?" He called back to the apparent leader of the crew, trying to pull his hands away from Chaos's grip.

Suddenly, the figure he was so desperate to get close to appeared at his side. Before Sonic could realize what was going on, the heel of his boot connected with his face, knocking him back to the center of the square. He felt his arms and legs tremble from the pain and exhaustion, while sweat dripped down off of his body and onto the pavement.

"Gyahahahaha! Oh, this is too good to watch!" Eggman cackled. "Nice!" He added, watching as Shadow rushed in to kick Sonic back across the plaza.

"Tails, help!" Sonic called, trying to reach out to his companion as Metal gripped him by his leg. He was thrown into the air, allowing the shadowy figure to ram his foot into his face once again. "I...could...use...the...help!" The fox instinctively moved out from behind the debris to help Sonic, but part of him immediately froze. A chill ran up his spine, and his legs suddenly felt as if they were made of lead – anchoring him to where he stood.

Fear. It was fear that kept Tails from rushing in to make the attempt at helping his friend. Fear was what made each drop of sweat rolling down his back feel ice-cold; Fear was what made every beat of his quick-moving heart near-deafening in his ears. The boy could do nothing but watch in horror as his idol, Sonic the Hedgehog, was caught in a twisted juggling game. His hero was no longer able to even put up a fight.

A scratch from Metal Sonic. An uppercut from Chaos. A punch over the head from Zavok. A knee to the gut from Shadow. Sonic was knocked in and out of the air, back and forth between opponents, all while his only ally sat and watched. To add insult to injury, he was finished off by the fifth and most powerful enemy, who fired a series of lasers into his chest.

"Taaaaaaiiiiiillllllssssss!" Sonic cried as he fell from the sky. His hedgehog body hit the ground once again with a dull thud. All was a haze to the youthful hedgehog as he fought to regain his senses. The pain and fatigue from his beating was simply too much for him. All he could manage was a small head-tilt, allowing him to look his frightened companion directly in the eyes.

"Gck-! Ngh...T-Tails..." The blue hedgehog winced, his eyes drooping as his head slowly lowered back onto the ground. A faint ringing in his ears nearly made his own statement of "Run..." inaudible. Darkness crept from the corner of his vision, while the ringing only grew louder. Soon sight was no longer a luxury the quickly-fading hedgehog could afford, as everything went dark. The last thing he could hear before drifting away was the sound of someone calling his name – as well as that same, otherworldly sound...

**Greetings! This was admittedly a little creative exercise I decided to give a try. I thought there wasn't a better way to dust the cobwebs and practice some action writing than to write a bit about Sonic. Why Forces? I've shared the same sentiment with many others that the story could use some work, so I thought it'd be nice to give it my own spin! Again, this was just a creative exercise, but I'm interested in continuing the project and possibly developing the concepts more! The foundation for that was already established here, as I did have the sentiment of 'I should leave this open to continue' in mind.**

**Cheers! Let me know what you think of the work in a review, if you'd like. Thoughts on the writing would certainly be appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

_"And...that's how it started. With the disappearance of those two important people. The rest of us? We didn't know until it was too late. __I still remember just how hectic and awful it was that day, when Eggman finally decided to move with his plans, now that Sonic was out of the picture..."_

**Part I: A Steady Decline**

The city of Station Square was always a lively, bustling place. Traffic was almost always terrible, especially during the rush hour. Sidewalks were no less busy, as the compact space was forced to accommodate an exceptionally large amount of pedestrians. Businessmen, tourists, locals going about their daily business, and plenty of other people of different shapes, sizes, and backgrounds moved throughout the city. Most were humans, but there were a few anthropomorphic animals strewn throughout the crowd. They seemed just as preoccupied with their daily lives, only allowing themselves to be momentarily preoccupied by the flashy neon signs that hung from the top of a few buildings throughout the squares.

One of those animal-like people wandering through the crowd was a young, colorful hedgehog. The girl's hot-pink quills were styled to stretch downwards rather than strictly jutting behind her head, resulting in it appearing similar to a hairstyle popular with many human teenage girls. To keep with the hip, trendy look of her hair, the hedgehog wore a fashionable sleeveless red and white dress, with matching boots as well. Even among other cartoonish, oddly-colored animals, she stood out with her loud and bold presence. In one of her hands was a large paper bag filled to the brim with groceries. In the other – a small pink cellphone which she held directly against her ear.  
"I **know…**! I know! I know, right!?" The girl jabbered in her girlish voice. How she spoke quite accurately reflected her outer appearance. "I went ahead and got that nice reservation set ahead a week in advance, and he completely stood me up!" She whined. Others around her seemed aggravated by her rather loud exclamations, but none spent enough time near her to feel the need to say anything.

"I've absolutely had it with Sonic after last night! I beat him in that game of croquet fair and square, and he even said he'd come. If he wasn't going to show up then he should have just said so, and not wasted my time!" The girl whined. She took a moment to balance herself – not allowing some of the fruits at the top of her bag to spill out onto the street.

"I agree! It was very rude of him to not keep his promise. He could have at least been honest and said he couldn't make it!" A young, high-pitched voice replied over the line. "But I think Mister Sonic might have been busy with something, Amy. I don't think he wanted to hurt your feelings, he's not like that!"

"Trust me, you wouldn't believe some of the stories he's made up to try and get out of a day with me." The hedgehog named Amy sighed, rolling her eyes. "Remember that time he said he got summoned into a fantasy world filled with knights and stuff? Or that time he got sucked into a book by a genie? Yeah – that was always conveniently **after** he missed a date!" She suddenly swerved out of the crowd, letting her duck into the nook of a pub doorway.

"Plus I called him ten times before, during, and after the time he was supposed to meet me outside the restaurant and he never showed! Someone better have died, because I put a lot of work into scheduling that for him!" She whispered into her cellphone. "It's probably why he hasn't called me or stopped by today, either. He knows he messed up by being a no-show. A girl has feelings too, Sonic! Humph!" With a rather snooty expression, she pointed her nose to the air indignantly.

"Oh...I'm sorry Amy..." The other voice sighed. "Well maybe you, me, and Mister Big could go on another trip together soon! Or we could have a sleepover tonight. I'm sure mama would say yes if she knew you were sad." They suggested.

"I totally would Cream, but I'm house-sitting, remember?" Amy sighed. "I wish I had your mom's cooking to keep my belly full this weekend though. I got tired of eating takeout and microwaved stuff, so I actually went and bought things to make real food." The girl leaned against the wall, pressing her bare arm against it while she listened to her friend continue to speak.

"I'll try and bring you some of mama's lunch after my dance rehearsal tomorrow. That should cheer you up!" Cream suggested. "And then you and I can watch that one movie where the bee uses his stinger to-" Amy's face scrunched up when she heard the line suddenly go quiet – followed by a toneless beep. Much to her dismay, checking her phone only informed her that she no longer had service in the area.

"What the-? What gives!? The line was just fine a minute ago!" Amy gasped, her eyes narrowing. She tapped her phone a few times, before holding it over her head in an attempt to regain her connection. These tries weren't successful, which only further exasperated her. "Oh, come on! Dumb cell service!" The hedgehog whined. A loud huff escaped her lungs as she shoved the device into her pocket.

Resigned to calling her friend back later, Amy forced herself back onto the street to resume her walk home. With nothing else to do while she forced herself through the bustling street, the girl glanced at the world around her, hoping something interesting would catch her eye. All she seemed to notice, however, were people who seemed just as disgruntled and confused as she was. Several pedestrians were staring at their phones, their brows furrowed in confusion. As she passed by a particularly loud pair of women, Amy heard them mention the fact that their phones had stopped working as well.

"That's weird..." The girl muttered under her breath. "Did everyone else's go out too? It must be an internet issue, then...I hope it isn't a city-wide thing!" She whined to herself. Then again, the girl was still curious about the ordeal in the back of her mind. Something had to have caused the phones to be cut off. What could have been the source?  
Unfortunately for Amy, as well as all those present in Station Square, the pink hedgehog was given her answer just a few short moments later. A large shadow suddenly loomed over the street, casting the location and all those occupying it in darkness. 'What the? Who turned out the lights?' Amy thought to herself. Glancing upward, she noticed that several people around her had stopped walking – far more preoccupied with something behind the hedgehog. Upon turning around and glancing up into the sky, she was immediately seized by shock. Her mouth hung open as the bag of groceries slipped out of her arm.

Looming over the city of Station Square was not one, but several large flying battleships. There were no less than half a dozen of the massive ships, each of them painted a deep shade of red, and were quite clearly armed to the teeth with artillery. The crowd around Amy shared in her appalled shock. Many began to whisper to themselves, while others shouted in fear.  
Movement in the corner of her eye caused the pink hedgehog to tear her attention away from the encroaching battleships. As if to add to the terrifying spectacle, all the electric billboards around the plaza were beginning to show signs of glitching. The sound and image quality grew increasingly worse and worse, before the screens went dark.

After a few moments, however, the billboards flickered to life once again – this time displaying a symbol consisting of a round face and pointed mustache. A horrifyingly familiar jingle began to emit from the speakers as well. 'Oh no…!' Amy thought, her eyes growing even wider. Her worst fears were confirmed when she saw what the screens changed to next.

Each of the electronic billboards suddenly displayed Doctor Eggman himself, reclining in a chair. Behind him, one could see an entire control room filled with egg pawns, all hard at work manning stations and hundreds of buttons. Many of those around Amy immediately began to point at the screens, gasping and crying out in fear.

"Er-hem-hem! Citizens of Earth, lend me your ears!" The man suddenly called, sitting up. He folded his gloved hands together, placing them on the dashboard of whatever control panel was in front of him. All those looking up at the screens could see him glaring directly into the camera. "As most of you know, my name is Doctor Ivo Robotnik, the greatest scientific genius in the world! Though I am also commonly known as Eggman – the leader of the **glorious** Eggman Empire!" He exclaimed.

"And that empire is only going to expand. From this day forth, I claim the entirety of Earth as property of the Eggman Empire. You all are now honorary residents. Congratulations!" The doctor proclaimed. After pointing at the screen, he continued his speech. "And don't even think about fighting back! I'll crush anyone that gets in my way. With my new weapon of mass destruction, those of you who try to fight back will simply be wiped out. You'd best stand there like you are right now and accept your fates!"

Amy and the crowd watched in horror as the flying battleship passing directly over them suddenly began to make a loud noise. A panel attached to the bottom of the ship slowly moved to the right, revealing a horde of robots peering down at them. Their glowing eyes made it clear that there were hundreds of them – all ready to pounce on the city below.

"I hope you don't mind a hostile takeover, my dear peasants, but I have to ensure that there's none of you that have the ability to put a stop to my plans!" Eggman chuckled, his demented smile growing wider. "Don't worry! No harm will come to you, so long as you don't run or scream too loudly. Mwaha! Mwahahahahaha!" He cackled. The man's mirthless, spine-chilling laughter echoed throughout the plaza.

"No...No way…!" Amy mumbled, a bead of sweat rolling down her cheek. "He isn't seriously attacking the city now!?" There were times where the madman had been as bold before – though those times were few and far between. Any instance where Doctor Eggman was so confident, however, was a dangerous one. Seeing him attack then and there immediately caused the hedgehog to seize up.

Her attention was drawn back to reality when the screams of those around her grew ear-piercing. She focused her line of sight on the cruiser above them once again, and realized that dozens of the doctor's mechanical soldiers began to throw themselves from the ship.

One by one the robots landed in the street – some pulling out parachutes or brightly-colored umbrellas moments before they would have hit the pavement. One egg pawn, however, was too slow in deploying their parachute. It crashed into the ground right in front of Amy, letting out a clang as parts and sparks flew from its metallic body. The hedgehog it nearly crushed squealed in surprise, falling backwards and landing roughly on her backside. She simply stared at the body of her would-be killer with wide eyes.

Panic immediately broke out among the hundreds of people in the crowd. They were sent in a frenzy, screaming as they scrambled to escape the clutches of the large, brightly-colored robots that were scattered among them. There were even a few in the crowd who were dragged into the sky and back to the flying battleship – all in the hands of larger, specialized robots. The chaos only grew more intense when the local law enforcement attempted to intervene. This resulted in dozens of egg pawns retrieving the equally-colorful blasters they had kept hidden within their holsters.

Amy let out a cry as a stray laser from an egg pawn shot directly at her feet. The hedgehog immediately scooted back more, her breathing growing more and more panicked. A sudden metallic body behind her forced the girl to come to a halt – with her head hitting the wall hard. "Ow!" She winced, craning her neck to glance back at what she had run into.

Towering over the relatively small hedgehog girl was a large, green, broadly-built robot. It hovered over the ground, with its two red eyes glowing brightly as it glared at her. This robot was quite familiar to Amy – and her suspicions were confirmed yet again when she read "E-100 ALPHA" printed neatly on the side of its head. While it was bold to see, such a detail was only noticeable thanks to how close she was to the robot.

"Not **you** again!" Amy cried. Her opponent hissed angrily, steam shooting out of the back of his head. The robot seemed equally displeased to see her. Without any hesitation he aimed to punch one of his metallic fists through her head – only failing in the attempt due to the girl rolling out of the way. Bits of pavement shot out of the ground, particles of the material coating his hand as he slowly looked up to see Amy.

The hedgehog had already sprung to her feet and turned to face Alpha, but seemed incapable of doing much else in that moment. She simply stared at the robot, her face showing a look of terror, her body trembling in its presence. "G-Get back! L-L-Leave me alone!" Amy whimpered, biting her lip as she stared down the robot. Her attacker simply stared in return as it pulled its fist back into place. Quickly realizing that the girl was easy prey, however, Alpha knew it had to seize the opportunity.

Alpha slowly approached her, holding out his arms and flexing his metallic claws – making it clear his intentions were to grab her. With many others in the street being taken back to the ship from which the robots came from, one could be led to believe no immediate harm would come to her if she simply let this machine take her. This hedgehog's old rival had different plans. As soon as Amy was within grabbing distance, Alpha raised his arm into the air, balling the hand into a fist and ready to make another attempt at crushing her.

Unfortunately for the large robot, Amy had other plans as well. Her eyes gleamed dangerously when she noticed the metallic hand swinging at her. She reached behind her back, before screaming at the top of her lungs as she summoned a bright yellow hammer from seemingly nowhere. The girl swung faster and with even more force than her opponent, hitting the robotic appendage with all her might. A loud crunching sound emitted from Alpha's body as his right arm was ripped out of its socket.

"You thought that'd work again? You really are a useless piece of scrap!" Amy shouted, glaring up at the robot as it struggled to recover from the shocking retaliation. Any sort of fear from earlier was gone, leaving behind a defiant fire in her eyes and a large frown on her lips. "I've already beaten you once before, and I'll do it again if you don't leave me alone! And don't ever try a nasty trick like that on a girl ever again...you're lucky I was just pretending to be scared!"

Without a hint of hesitation, Amy reeled back, her hammer poised to strike. "Hey, batter batter! Hey, batter batter!" She announced, watching the whining Alpha attempt to back away. With sparks and smoke emitting from its severed limb, however, the robot found trouble in moving. "SWING-!" The head of Amy's hammer hit the robot hard, sending it rocketing off of the sidewalk and through the display window of one of the many shops lining the street.

"Humph! And **stay** gone!" Amy cried, her eyes twinkling. Her excitement didn't last long, however, as she noticed that another robot stood a short distance away. To her dismay, that robot was nearly identical to Alpha, and shared in its hatred of the small pink hedgehog. "Uh oh…!" She gasped, watching as a small red light positioned just a short distance above its eyes began to glow.  
A laser suddenly fired at its target, forcing Amy to dive out of the way. "Since when has there been more than one of you!? This isn't fair!" She cried. The hedgehog immediately scrambled to her feet before dashing away from the scene. Her robotic pursuer followed closely behind, the obnoxious screeching noise of its tracking system ringing out over the sounds of combat and fleeing civilians.

"I hate that this comes so naturally to me!" Amy groaned, swinging at an egg pawn that was moments away from dealing a finishing blow to a police officer. Her victim was flung across the square. "If there weren't so many people here, I'd totally teach you a lesson you lethal green jerk!" She called back to the Alpha clone as she sprinted into a crowd.

Yet hiding herself among the chaotic fleeing humans and attacking robots did little to help Amy put distance between herself and Alpha. Fellow citizens of Station Square were far too unpredictable with their panicked movements, and the robots themselves threatened to intentionally stop her in her tracks. With the others around her in mind, Amy did her best to deal swift ends to the egg pawns in her way – always using vertical attacks to avoid hitting nearby people.

Amy was suddenly seized with inspiration when she saw a pawn positioned a sizable distance away from any of the fleeing civilians. With a cry she hopped over the robot, before twisting her body around and landing just behind it. "Alright, jarhead! You can have a taste of what it's like to be bothered by a robot!" She called. The hedgehog swatted her hammer against the egg pawn, sending it flying towards the enemy. Alpha, who had taken a moment to shove a frightened businessman out of the way, could do nothing but take the force of the projectile. Its ally shattered into dozens of broken parts – leaving behind a massive dent in its superior's face.

"Alright!" Amy giggled, watching as the Alpha clone's lifeless body fell to the ground with a clang. The hedgehog spun around and immediately ran back into the chaos. In the distance she could see her destination – a square brick building with a monorail system extending from it. The city's train station.  
The hedgehog was only a few yards away from her safe haven when she watched, to her horror, three Alpha clones form a line between her and the doors. All three of the robots held up their metal claws, steam shooting out from the back of their heads. "You gotta be kidding me!" Amy whined. She skidded to a halt just a few feet from the center robot.

"Excuse me, Mistew Wobots?" The girl called as her attackers raised their fists. Amy felt a small sense of relief seeing them freeze for a moment. "Is thewe any chance you could let me thwough? I'm gonna be late for my twain. You could make an exception fow a cutie like me, wight?" She asked in the most sickly-sweet voice she could muster. To her dismay, her cutesy demeanor didn't seem to persuade the blockade of Alpha. They immediately lashed out at her, all three shooting their hands at the girl's face.  
"Thanks, Cream. That idea helped **so** much." Amy huffed after sliding out of range of the fists. "I know Eggman doesn't put a lot of thought into his robots, but he should have added a line of code that reminded you to never get in a girl's way!" She called. None of the robots were able to react in an orderly manner as the hedgehog tossed her hammer at them. Her throw was powerful and her aim was true, resulting in the center robot being tossed backwards and hitting a nearby pillar.

"This isn't how you treat a lady, you know!" The hedgehog called as she dodged several lasers the two other Alphas sent her way. She began to flank them from the left, creating a wide arc at first, but narrowing in the closer she got to the train station's entrance. 'Now...to use a strategy Sonic taught me!' Amy thought, smirking.

With a cry the hedgehog leaped into the air, dodging her attackers' projectiles while moving over their heads. She landed atop the head of one of the Alphas, leaving the one she stood atop of incapable of hitting her. Its partner, however, realized the hedgehog was _just_ in range of its fists. The robot took a swing – punching at the girl's feet as hard as it could. This led to it accidentally punching the top of the other Alpha instead, causing the front of its face to crumple and fall apart. After realizing it had mistakenly destroyed its own ally, the Alpha beeped sadly.

The depressed robot wasn't given much time to lament over the tragedy of the situation, however, for Amy was quick in dropping down and swinging her hammer over its head – crushing the cheaply-produced robot. "You guys just get easier and easier to fight. I don't know why I was even worried!" She giggled, winking at the three smoldering robot remains. For a few moments she had forgotten why the clones had bothered to get in her way in the first place. Focus returned to her when she spotted a mother and her child sprint past her, heading straight towards the entrance to the station. "Oh, shoot!" The hedgehog cried as she ran after them.

While Amy was expecting the train station to be packed with panicked and fleeing civilians, the girl couldn't have been prepared for the sight that awaited her upon entering. The entirety of the first floor was jammed tightly with human bodies, all pressed together and shouting at the top of their lungs. Each person seemed to be protesting something, but the young, short hedgehog wasn't capable of seeing the source of their disdain from the floor. Coming to the conclusion that she would only receive answers through reaching higher ground, Amy forced herself through the crowd, shoving and squeezing past bystanders until she reached a tall marble pillar that stretched towards the ceiling. She began to climb, using her arms and legs to grip the structure the best she could.

Upon reaching a height that was beyond the heads of the tallest humans present, Amy glanced towards the second level of the building – where the trains themselves moved to and from. To her dismay, she found that several security guards lined the top of the stairs, forced to keep those who wished to climb towards the higher floor at bay. She narrowed her eyes to get a good look at the train parked next to the loading area. With her sharper line of sight, the pink hedgehog realized that each of the tram cars were already packed with people.

"...Oh no!" Amy gasped, her eyes widening. Seeing the monorail tram's cars begin to close cued Amy to act. She immediately threw herself from the pillar she clung to moments prior, and hopped from one head to another as she raced towards the higher platform. "No no no no, please!" She cried, upping her speed even more when she noticed even more train cars closing. The pained cries below her certainly had an effect on the hedgehog, but the wild, instinctive fear driving her thus far dulled her feelings of guilt.

There was nothing the guards could do to stop Amy from forcing herself onto the platform. The girl nearly tripped upon finally reaching stable ground once again, but she refused to allow even a moment's hesitation in those few precious seconds left to her. Amy immediately ran along the length of the tram, tapping the head of her hammer against every closed door. "Please! Please! Let me in, please let me in!" She begged, watching as the doors ahead of her slid shut.

With one last bout of energy, she charged forward, hoping to reach the last car that had its door open. Amy felt the rush of adrenaline course through her body, the pounding of her heart and head, the exhilaration of running for one's own survival. She took a dive for the final tram car, shouting and holding her hands out to the crowd inside.  
Those inside the last tram car watched worriedly as a small, pink hedgehog slammed face-first into the door moments after it sunk into place. Her face was squished against the glass, and her emerald eyes darted from one person to the next, as if begging for any of them act. None of them did.

Amy slowly trailed down the length of the tram card, before falling to the tile floor with a dull thud. The clatter of her hammer echoed in her mind – drowning out the screams of the crowd below, as well as the metallic groans of the monorail powering to life. She had only gotten to picking herself off the ground by the time the sleek, modern tram shot out of the station, leaving her behind in its wake.

"Ngh...Mmm…!" Amy whimpered, sniffling as she watched the train abandoned her. She was only capable of staring at the vehicle as it quickly shot out of sight, leaving no trace of its presence other than a defeated female hedgehog. The next few minutes of her time were spent with her breathing heavily. With no train to take her, she would simply have to walk.

In one final bid to provide some relief to her fellow victims in the station, Amy climbed atop the railing. She looked down to the dozens of protesters, watching each of them. To her surprise, she found that many were yelling at different things. Some voiced their disdain towards the guards, some shouted at where the train once stood, some stared up at the sky and shouted to the heavens, and some even seemed content with screaming at the hedgehog herself. Amy's eyes trailed across the crowd, taking note of each and every person.

When her eyes wandered towards the glass doors she had entered from, however, Amy felt a new sense of urgency course through her. Standing just behind the reinforced glass panes were a pair of Alpha clones, both of which were bashing their metallic fists against the doors with as much force as they could muster. While one may have thought they were safe at first, the tiny cracks forming where their fists struck made it clear the glass's time as whole pieces was coming to an end.  
"Everyone, everyone!" Amy cried, waving her arms at the crowd. "We need to move, now! There are robots at the doors, they're breaking their way inside!" She hopped up and down a few times in the hopes of gaining their attention, but the crowd simply didn't acknowledge her. In their moment of weakness and fear, they were too scared to acknowledge her. The hedgehog screamed, cupping her hands around her face and bellowed as loudly as she could – but her voice was no match for the tirade of panic below her.

Amy's face scrunched up as she stared down at group below them. With the tram finally gone, not even the security guards meant to keep her from the higher platform bothered to acknowledge her existence. The area had fallen to chaos. All the hedgehog could do was ball her hands into fists and bow her head, silently apologizing to the horde of innocents she had failed.

The sound of crashing glass and fresh screams cued Amy to take her leave. She immediately hopped down from the railing as the crowd's panicked cries grew louder and louder. The robots had finally broken into the train station – allowing dozens of egg pawns to swarm the bottom floor and overwhelm those present with sheer force. They were quick and efficient in suppressing those who were compliant, while incapacitating those who weren't. Amy, however, wasn't interested in interacting with Eggman's forces any longer. She immediately darted towards the monorail railing, gritting her teeth as she hopped atop it.

"I'm so sorry!" The small hedgehog whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. She ran into the tunnel, sprinting as fast as she could while maintaining balance atop the platform. Amy Rose abandoned the train station and all those left inside – much like how the train itself had abandoned her. Her footsteps echoed around her as the screaming and beeping of robots grew diminished.

She ran for quite some time. Surrounded by darkness and equipped with no means of telling the time, she wasn't able to accurately gauge just how long she had been within the monorail's tunnel. Minutes passed, then hours. As her legs grew tired and her sides began to ache, Amy was forced to slow to a walk. Her time in the tunnel seemed never ending.

What kept her going, the _only_ thing keeping the small hedgehog going, was what awaited her on the other end of the tunnel. Not what laid immediately at the end, however. In the back of the girl's mind, all she could think of was the heroic blue hedgehog that often occupied her thoughts, the one she hoped to reunite with. She squeezed her eyes shut, allowing the image in her mind seem realer to her. The ability to see meant little at the time – darkness continued to envelop her as she walked further away from Station Square.

"Sonic, I'm sorry..." Amy whispered, clutching her shoulders as she walked. "I'm going to find you. As soon as I find you, we'll sort this out...together. I-I won't even say anything about the date..." The hedgehog paused for a moment, bowing her head. Remembering her callous conversation over the phone just a short while ago caused another wave of guilt to wash over her. "...I'll get to him. I'll make sure he's okay...and then we'll stop Eggman." She said, reaffirming the sentiment to herself.

After clearing her throat and picking up the pace, Amy began to distract herself with from the immediate thoughts of her hero – primarily relying on the concerns awaiting outside of the tunnel. She needed a plan.

"Okay...so this train leads from Station Square to...Mystic Ruins." Amy whispered to herself, nodding with each factual statement. "And from the station set up at Mystic Ruins, I can go to...to..." The hedgehog closed her eyes, sticking her tongue out as she hummed thoughtfully. "Mmmm...Tails! Tails has a workshop right outside of the Mystic Ruins, a-and he might be there! He'll definitely be there!" She stated. "So I'll go there, I'll find Tails, and then we'll go after Sonic. Sonic...Sonic..."  
Any opened her eyes, staring sadly at the ground. Her eyes had finally adjusted somewhat to the light, allowing her to see the faint outline of her stylish boots. They were dirty – covered in rubble, dirt, and a single burn left by the laser of an E-100. That was all she could focus on as she walked. "...I hope you're okay..." She sighed.

In the back of her mind, all Amy could see was the blue hedgehog she so deeply cared for. In the forefront of her mind, however, all the hedgehog's mind seemed to concern itself with was Eggman's triumphant speech. All other trains of thought or attempts at diversions eventually died out – even when they managed to keep her occupied for a while. Each attempt always ended with Amy reminding herself of the mirthless, maniacal laughter of the madman that forced her to flee her home city.

The darkness enveloped Amy Rose once again as she pressed further through the tunnel.


	3. Chapter 3

_"__As far back as I can remember, I've been living here on Angel Island, guarding the Master Emerald. Its been a while since I've started looking for answers, but I'm still not quite sure why I was given this job. This fate of mine...it became a lot easier of a pill to swallow once I started having people like Sonic rope me into their lives once in a while. But I wasn't at all prepared for what was waiting for me that day...__or for who would break the news to me."_

Legends of old often spoke of a mysterious land on Earth – one entirely untouched by man and rarely recognized by nature. Angel Island, a large chunk of land that floated high over the ocean. This shadow-less landmass was the talking piece of generations of researchers and archaeologists_. _They always spoke with wide eyes and fanciful whimsy of the land's supposed diverse landscape, with forests, deserts, mountains, and the remains of previously-forgotten civilizations.

Almost any genuine belief that the land existed had been discarded long ago, though that was quickly undone when a series of events led to a world-renowned adventurer discovering the island for himself. A resurgence in the scientific community's fascination with the subject was inevitable once the island's existence became too obvious for the public to ignore.

Unfortunately, despite Angel Island's official discovery being a highly-publicized event that garnered keen interest from many powerful groups, any attempts to explore the land or establish settlements were quickly foiled by the area's one occupant – the sole protector of the island and the guardian of an ancient artifact. An agreement was eventually reached between this vigilant defender and the rest of the world. Angel Island was left to exist peaceably on its own – with only nature to determine the law of the land. Many still questioned, however, what became of the island's guardian…

* * *

Angel Island's lush jungles were teeming with life, as the tropical areas featured the perfect conditions for many different types of plants and animals. This created a flourishing ecosystem – one of nature's finest works of art. One feature these lands boasted were the existence of creatures that science once believed extinct, or had never known in the first place. Birds of vibrant colors sported their incredible visual displays as they flew from perching spot to perching spot. The odd sight of monkeys with tiny tusks emitting from their jaws scurried across the grassy floor, fearful of the predatory creatures that were certainly tracing them down.  
One of these tusked monkeys were unfortunate to find that nature is often unkind, even in a beautiful place such as the flying island. In an attempt to escape the area by leaping into a lofty bush, the monkey mistakenly found itself in the presence of a large, green-colored snake that had wrapped itself around one of the branches. The serpent immediately snapped at the newcomer as it got close, causing the tusked-creature to scream and fall backwards.

Realizing the foolish mammal could be its dinner, the snake slowly uncurled itself from the tree it clung to, before dropping to the ground in front of the monkey. Its newfound prey immediately hopped to its feet, and chirped fearfully as it backed away. Both animals understood that the snake – lightning-quick and with teeth filled to the brim with venom – was at a distinct advantage.

Without much else to do other than panic, the monkey began to whimper and cry – begging for the help of his fellow mammals. After its family failed to arrive even after a considerable amount of time, however, all hope of its allies assisting were quickly forgotten. The monkey simply watched with wide, beady eyes as the snake readied to strike.

Then, suddenly, both animals were forced to a halt when they felt the ground beneath them begin to shake. The snake, worried that its prey was somehow attempting to pull some kind of trick, glared at the mammal while its tail wagged threateningly. Its prey began to back away, chirping nervously.

Before either animal could act, the ground beneath the snake seemingly burst upwards – sending the predator flying through the air and well out of sight. Divine intervention had seemingly come to save the monkey, who immediately accepted the help and sprinted out of sight, screeching at the top of its lungs in fear.

From the ground came the one who had punched a hole through the forest floor, the distant cries of an ape serving as additional background noise to the typical jungle ambiance. As the burrowing newcomer appeared from the underground, however, it couldn't have been made any more clear how much his appearance juxtaposed the naturalistic world around him.

Knuckles the Echidna grunted as he fully pulled his sturdy red body out of the soil. "Phew...I thought I'd never see the light of day again." He sighed. His voice was calm – bored, even. Almost every inch of the echidna's body was covered in dirt, from the quills that reached just past his chest to the zig-zag tail positioned behind his legs. "Gah! It must have rained recently, if the soil's still this clingy." Knuckles growled, using his spiked fists to pound away at the dirt covering his body. After a few minutes, he had successfully brushed off most of the grainy substance staining his fur.

"Perfect!" He chuckled, a small smile forming. The echidna turned to walk away, and even took a few steps before suddenly freezing. His entire face went pale, and his eyes widened as he grimaced. "Whoops! Almost forgot!" Knuckles immediately ran back to the hole he emerged from, thrusting his arm inside and fishing around. After a few moments he pulled his prize from the soil – a small burlap sack. He took a moment to dust the bag off, before resuming his walk away from the hole.

The jungle around him continued on as if nothing had changed. His presence was not only natural to most of the creatures occupying such a lavish ecosystem, it was deemed welcome. Many animals watched with curious eyes as Knuckles walked along a dirt path – his eyes always focused on what lay ahead of him as he whistled a pleasant tune.

Soon the scenery began to change ever so slightly. The ground beneath the echidna's feet became steeper, with trees and other greenery growing more scarce. Knuckles let out a pant as he grew closer to the hill's peek. "Ha...my feet are exhausted. I can't wait to kick back and relax after being gone all night." He muttered under his breath. With a new sense of determination, the island's guardian picked up the pace and pushed himself to reach the top of the large hill.

Awaiting Knuckles at the end of his jog was a hill that plateaued at the top, revealing the remains of an ancient alter. Cracks and vines crawled their way up limestone pillars both standing and toppled over – with grass and other plants nearly covering the walkway that circled the area. While the space quite clearly possessed an air of abandonment, there was serenity to what once belonged to man coexisting with nature.

While the entire area was rather pleasant to the eye, what laid at the center of the altar was absolutely breathtaking. Standing proudly for anyone to see was a massive green gem, its form glowing in the light of the sun. Part of the gem's bottom was sunk into the ground – where a chamber dug by whoever built the alter held the emerald in its place.

Knuckles sighed in relief as he approached the gem. 'Thank goodness...the Master Emerald is in perfect shape, exactly how I left it!' He thought. The echidna smiled as he rested a hand on the glowing stone's surface. "Glad to know you're safe." As he affectionately patted the Master Emerald, Knuckles let out a prolonged yawn, which echoed throughout the clearing.

"Oh yeah…! I almost forgot, I brought you some friends." He added, revealing the burlap sack to the gem. He immediately untied the small bag, before holding it upside down and shaking it vigorously. One by one pieces of rare, valuable rocks fell onto the ground, their shiny bodies glittering in the sunlight as well. While they were certainly beautiful treasures, no object could match the inspiring look of the emerald Knuckles was tasked with protecting.

Another yawn escaped the echidna, causing the sleepy-eyed Knuckles to cover his mouth. "Sheesh...I guess that means it's time for a nap." He sighed, tossing the burlap sack aside, before crouching down and leaning his back against the emerald. His quills served as a soft cushioning as he slid down, until only his head rested against his most prized possession.

Gazing out over the jungle canopy and to the sparkling ocean of the world below, Knuckles felt a content smile find its way on his lips. His focus slowly shifted to the sparkling rocks next to him. "Sorry, bat girl...as much as I enjoy a good treasure hunt..." He mumbled as he allowed his eyes to close. "...you just can't beat the peace and quiet of Angel Island."

A small chuckle emitted from Knuckles. His breathing began to slow, and his body grew less tense with each passing second. The alluring thought of the girl haunting his mind was quickly diminished by both fatigue and the reminder of a different, equally troublesome companion. 'The only other person who loves to drag me into all their problems is Sonic...though come to think of it, it **has** been a while since I've had to drag his spiky butt out of trouble. Maybe he's done getting me involved in all of his adventures for a while...' He pondered.

'Well, I suppose that's fine by me.' Knuckles eventually settled within his mind, once again yawning. Fatigue began to weigh down heavily on the echidna. 'I think I could go just a bit longer without having another intense adventure get in the way of me protecting the emerald...my eternal duty...' With his train of thought coming to a close, nothing remained to stop Knuckles from succumbing to his sleepiness. He didn't seem to mind – as he was clearly in need of rest.

At the edge of the sleeping echidna's home, however, was a noise that threatened to disturb the silence. A shift in the bushes caused their leaves to rustle, indicating something was moving from behind it. The noise of moving greenery continued to echo throughout the clearing – though the sound failed to stir the Master Emerald's protector.

Just as Knuckles was moments away from falling asleep completely, a sudden noise above him sent the echidna flying out of his resting form.

"KNUCKLES!" A sharp, nasally voice shouted at the top of their lungs – the source floating just above him. Knuckles' eyes immediately flew open as his heart skipped a beat, and he let out a surprised gasp. In a moment of pure instinct, he reflexively swung at the air as he leaped to his feet. The voice's owner was sent flying through the air, before landing in a heap a few yards away. "Gah-!"  
"Alright, put 'em up!" Knuckles called – still on edge from the sudden awakening. His eyes immediately darted towards the groaning, white-colored pile of fluff crumpled on the ground. As the adrenaline wore off and the echidna came to his senses, he was able to process the information being presented to him. Several alarms began to ring in Knuckles' head as he slowly realized he recognized the person he had punched in the face.

"Silver!?" The echidna cried, running towards the wounded hedgehog. "Don't scare me like that, man! You almost gave me a heart attack!" He sighed, placing a hand over his chest. His companion took a moment to remove a hand from his nose.

"You didn't have to punch me so hard, ow-!" He cried. Silver sniffled and rubbed his jaw sensitively for a few moment, before squeezing his eyes shut. Knuckles watched in awe as a cyan-blue aura surrounded the entirety of his body. He then lifted himself off the ground, allowing him to float in the air while he regained his composure. The guardian of Angel Island wasn't unfamiliar of Silver's telekinetic powers, though that wasn't to say the spectacle never failed to wow him. "Whatever, nevermind that! We have bigger problems!"

Knuckles quickly looked the hedgehog over curiously. Silver had the same appearance he normally featured. From the pure-white fur to the oddly-styled quills and strange fashion sense he maintained, as well as his unorthodox powers, one could easily tell this hero was from a different era entirely. "Wait a second...how could you be here? I thought you returned to the future!" The echidna questioned. "Don't tell me...you didn't come back here because you wanted to use the Master Emerald, did you?"

"What, no! Of course not!" Silver gasped. He balled his hands into fists, and grimaced as he began to hop up and down in a panicked manner. "I came back from the future to give you a warning – Upon returning to the future after I last saw you guys, the future I came back to was **totally** changed!" The hedgehog explained.

"Changed...in what kinds of ways?" Knuckles asked, his expression thoughtful.

"What-?" Silver looked at him incredulously. "Bad things, Knuckles! Very bad things!" He shouted, waving his arms around as he clarified. "Civilization as you know it is completely wiped out, almost the entire planet is dying from pollution, oh and **Eggman's army completely runs the world**! You know, **those** kinds of bad things!"

"Wait, Eggman? The next big calamity in your future is because of Eggman!?" Knuckles scoffed, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that? Normally Sonic is all we need to take him down..." To his dismay, the echidna watched Silver shake his head.

"That's the thing...no one knows where Sonic is." The hedgehog replied. His expression matched his voice in seriousness. "You're not the first person I've tried to contact, Knuckles. Everyone's already scattered because of Eggman's advances all over the world. He's already succeeded in shutting down a bunch of largely-populated areas!"

"He's done **what** now!?" Knuckles cried. He lunged forward, grabbing Silver and shaking him excessively. "You mean to tell me that Eggman's been getting away with messing up the planet already, and nobody bothered to tell me? What gives!" The hedgehog was only able to sit there and endure the man-handling, waiting for his 'friend' to be satisfied with his abuse. He was eventually set back on the grass. For the sake of not further enraging the island's guardian, he didn't bother to mention it was Knuckles who refused to keep any sort of communication device on him.

"Okay...so Eggman's got robots causing trouble all over the world, and Sonic is nowhere to be seen. I guess I'll have to step in and help..." Knuckles sighed, crossing his arms. "We need to get in contact with everyone and figure out some sort of game plan from here. I can leave the Master Emerald here for now, but-" The echidna's voice was caught in his throat. Both he and Silver heard the sudden sound of rustling leaves – this time loud enough to catch their attention.

"Oh...there's one other thing I should mention..." Silver explained, a nervous smile taking center-stage on his sweaty face. "Eggman...kindaalreadysentrobotsheretostealtheMasterEmerald!" He said quickly, hoping the echidna wouldn't make out anything he said.  
"Wait, what?" Knuckles cried, glaring at the hedgehog. 'I only understood two words out of all that, and those were 'Master' and 'Emerald'. This little punk showed up too late!' He thought to himself.  
The loud thud of numerous feet hitting the ground were heard as Silver and Knuckles turned to look back at the jungle. They watched, disturbed, as birds began to flee from the canopy of their home – flying into the air as they screeched in fear and protest. The bushes directly across the clearing began to shake violently.

From the foliage came a large, blue, animal-like robotic body. The mechanical creature leaped into the air, before landing right in front of Silver and Knuckles. Once the dust kicked up by the heavy impact was cleared, both heroes realized that the robot was a type of badnik – its size dramatically altered, so that it stood twice the height of either of its opponents. The outer-shell was shaped to resemble some sort of monkey, armed with a threatening tail that lashed at the air, as well as a boulder-sized coconut. It let out a shriek, so powerful and so packed with force it nearly sent the two rolling away.  
"Seriously!?" Knuckles cried. "You've got a lot of nerve taking your sweet time warning me, Silver! If that ape gets a single **scratch** on the Master Emerald, you're toast!" He declared, pointing a fist at the hedgehog.  
"You're blaming **me** for this!?" Silver cried, his eyes betraying the genuine feeling of hurt from Knuckles' threat. He quickly shook the sensation off, however. "Whatever! Let's just stop this thing before it goes on a rampage!" Knuckles seemed agreeable enough to cooperate with the hedgehog. Both hopped into a defensive stance, watching their sudden opponent act.

The first attempt at an attack the badnik made was a bold one. With a loud screech and pounding its fist against the ground serving as a mantra to announce its attack, the robot hoisted its massive coconut into the air, before tossing it towards them. Knuckles and Silver cried out as they dove to the side – barely avoiding the projectile as it hit the ground with a loud thud.

"W-Woah!" Silver gasped after stumbling away. From a distance, he was able to see the grounded coconut begin to glow a bright red. The sudden realization of what was most likely to come immediately spurred him into action. "Knuckles, look out!" He cried, directing the echidna – who was far closer to the fallen projectile – away from its range just in time. Silver sprinted past the explosion that emitted from the coconut moments later, his eyes trained on the one who had thrown it. 'If I can get in range of that thing, I might be able to end this here and now…!' He thought, his eyes widening.

Knuckles glared at the ape-shaped badnik, who already had restocked its previously-missing coconut. "You keep tossing those around and we'll have to ship you back in more than one box!" The echidna warned, pointing his fist at the robot. His adversary screeched at him – though this did little to break his deadpan expression.

"Feel the music, Knuckles...get in the groove..." He muttered to himself, hopping from side to side as he shook his hands in preparation. "Alright! I'm just warming up!" The echidna cried, punching his fists at the air in front of him. Just as he was about to take off towards the badnik, however, Knuckles was shocked to find Silver rush past him. "What the-? Silver, I was gonna rush him!" He shouted.

"Don't worry, Knuckles! I've got a plan!" Silver called. "Just distract him – I'll take it from here!" This order didn't sit well with the echidna, who took a moment to roll his eyes.

"Fine, have it your way." He huffed. Knowing Silver was exposed in those moments where he rushed the ape, Knuckles immediately got to work trying to compensate for his obvious attempt at flanking their enemy. "Hey, monkey dude!" His opponent immediately glanced towards him, its eyes sharpening. "You better get off my island, right now! Or else there's gonna be serious consequences..." Knuckles growled, holding up a fist threateningly. "That's right, ugly! I'll pound your metal body through the bottom of Angel Island and back into the ocean!"

In the face of all odds, Knuckles' taunting somehow got through to the badnik. Spurred into a rage by the echidna's words, the badnik pounded its fists against its metallic chest, before picking up the new coconut and tossing it towards its opponent. The echidna once again avoided his attacker's projectile – now armed with the knowledge it would explode moments later.

Silver's eyes gleamed as he slid to a halt next to the badnik. 'Alright! Knuckles' distraction worked perfectly!' He thought to himself. The hedgehog suddenly held up his hands, his brows furrowing while he glared at the blue robot. There he stood, completely motionless, while he attempted to somehow influence his opponent. For a few moments the same cyan aura emitting from Silver's hands surrounded the badnik – causing it to freeze in its place.

After a few moments, however, Silver suddenly gasped in pain. He was forced to drop his shaking hands, allowing the robot to move freely yet again. "Gah...it's no use! I can't stop an enemy that big in its track...not with just the power I have!" He panted, squeezing one eye shut while he attempted to regain his energy. Unfortunately for him, the badnik quickly figured out the hedgehog's location, and dealt a decisive blow to his back using its tail.

Knuckles watched as Silver flew across the clearing, before roughly landing on the ground next to him. Silver groaned in pain while he stood up and wiped some blades of grass from his face. "...Can't you **fly**?" The echidna asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ha...ha...very funny." His companion grunted, clutching the arm he had landed on. "I won't be able to stop something that big with just my psychic powers alone. We'll have to work together!" He suggested, glancing at Knuckles. Silver was met with a nod. "Alright – your turn. I'll distract him while you move in for the kill."

"Got it!" Knuckles called, flashing his ally a thumbs-up. He then dove to the ground – burrowing into the dirt and out of sight. This left Silver alone with the badnik on the surface. To his dismay, he found that their robotic opponent already retrieved another bomb.

'Knuckles is counting on me...' The hedgehog thought to himself, his hands balling into fists. "Alright, you sorry excuse for a...robot! Come at me!" He cried. This caught the badnik's attention, and the robot hissed and screeched at him in response. Silver immediately rushed forward – believing a feigned charge would be enough to keep his opponent distracted. With a wide smile, he continued to sprint towards the enemy.

That smile was immediately wiped from his face when Silver saw the badnik hoist its weapon over its head. There was no stopping the robot from throwing its coconut, though its adversary was more than willing to make the attempt. He slid to a halt, kicking up dirt and grass underneath him as he raised his hands. "Not happening again!" Silver cried, forcing the coconut to a halt when it was tossed his way. The force of the throw, as well as the size and weight of the coconut, made catching the projectile before it crushed him a close-call.

"Gah…!" He winced, sweat pouring down his face as he slowly lifted the coconut – which had only been a few inches from the top of his head – further away. When he spotted the coconut grow red as it readied itself to explode, the hedgehog grimaced and made a desperate bid to throw the bomb as far away as he could manage. Fortunately, the blast occurred a comfortable distance from him.

The ground positioned just behind the ape-like badnik began to shift and move – making it clear something was attempting to dig up from underneath. This alarming display went entirely missed by the robot, however, as the fight Silver was putting up kept its attention focused entirely on what laid ahead.

Knuckles suddenly rocketed out of the ground, sending large rocks flying throughout the area. The sudden quaking of the ground from his appearance managed to gain the badnik's attention, and it spun around to watch the sneaky echidna raise a fist. "Stay off of **my** island!" He shouted. Knuckles was quick to punch at the badnik's face, but he was intercepted by the robot's hands. They slammed into him, knocking the guardian higher into the air.

Silver watched with wide eyes as Knuckles plummeted towards the ground – perhaps even directly over his head. He immediately hopped upwards, before jutting out his hands and catching his friend with his own psychokinetic power. "Can't you **glide**?" The hedgehog asked as he lightly set Knuckles on the grass. From the look on his face, it was clear he had been building up the courage to say such a thing to the echidna.

"Touche." Knuckles grunted, begrudgingly granting Silver some respect. "Looks like trying to take that thing down in a one-on-one isn't gonna work, even with a sneak-attack. It's too good with its hands." He observed, rubbing his chin as he glared at the robot. "What do we do about it? If we're not careful, it's gonna end up blowing up the Master Emerald...and I am **not** going on another journey just to pick up the pieces!" His face hardened into a scowl, and he stamped at the ground in frustration. "Bah!"

Silver folded his arms as he looked ahead. He too glared at the badnik, though his expression was far more thoughtful – indicating he was thinking up some sort of plan. When was that robot its most vulnerable? Silver was immediately reminded of what Knuckles said moments prior, concluding that attacking the badnik while it hoisted its bomb was the precise moment in which they needed to strike. But how to attack? His eyes moved from the arms of the monkey to its legs, and then to the rocks that Knuckles had pushed out onto the surface while digging underground…

Inspiration struck the white hedgehog, and his mouth widened as he realized what their plan of attack would be. "Knuckles! I need you to dig underground, and throw up as many rocks as you can find under there!" He exclaimed, glancing towards his companion. The echidna gave him a confused look. "I'd like to see that monkey get a hit in when we're pelting him with boulders as big as those ones over there!" Silver explained, gesturing to the rocks near the angered badnik. Knuckles' eyes trailed towards their opponent as well, his eyes lighting up upon making the same realization.

"Alright, Silver. I'll give it a shot!" The echidna called, before burrowing into the ground once again. Silver lined himself directly with the badnik, his focus growing more intense. After a few moments of silence, several rocks shot out of the ground, landing in front of the hedgehog. Five boulders were left for him to work with, though to him this was sufficient.

"Okay! Watch this, badnik! I'll show you what it means to be a warrior from the future!" He shouted, his eyes shimmering as he lifted one of the boulders into the air. The rock wasn't nearly as large as the robotic monkey or its bombs, making it a threatening weapon that was even easier to use. "Take **this**!" Silver's roars echoed throughout the clearing as he hurled the first boulder towards his opponent. To his shock, the monkey immediately hoisted its projectile into the air, clearly ready to counterattack.

The badnik would never get the chance, however, as the rock Silver sent flying towards it hit the robot directly in the chest. A loud crunch made it clear the extent of the damage, with the stumbling monkey further proving how disoriented the attack made it. Silver smiled eagerly as he readied another boulder. He hurled the second one eagerly, before tossing the third one directly after. His adversary screeched angrily at this pressure, and was able to duck out of the second rock's line of fire. This maneuver didn't remain effective for long, however, as the third boulder hit it directly in its right leg.

With a cry, Silver picked up the last two boulders, spinning them around him at an alarmingly-fast rate. Sweat poured down his face, and the pulsing in his brain made the hedgehog feel almost light-headed, but he persevered. "GO DOWN!" He shouted, his eyes twitching in pain as he threw the last two projectiles at his enemy with all his might. This pair of boulders moved quicker than the previous ones – and slammed against the badnik so forcefully that it was immediately knocked off its feet.

A triumphant cry escaped the hedgehog as he watched his opponent's coconut land directly on top of it, quickly growing in size and redness. After a few seconds the bomb exploded, consuming the entire robot in fire. "Yeah! Woohoo! We did it!" The hedgehog cried. His premature celebration was cut short when the head and torso of the badnik suddenly shot from the flames, landing just a few feet away from Silver. The boy let out a small scream, leaping backwards in a moment of pure shock.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Silver and the robot's remains burst, and Knuckles shot from the underground. He landed directly next to the badnik, which looked up at him with the one eye that still worked. "...Peh. Looks like Silver managed to get the final hit." The echidna sighed. Silver watched his companion pick the robot from the ground. Even with its overwhelming size, he was able to lift it without expending much effort. "But it's **my** job to make sure you're gone for good. Stay off of **my island**, got it!?" He shouted. With a grunt, Knuckles chucked the robot's remains out of the clearing – sending it flying into the distance and out of sight.

Silence reigned supreme over the clearing once again as hedgehog and echidna alike fell onto their bottoms, letting out small sighs of relief. There they sat for quite some time, simply regaining their breath and energy. It was Silver who eventually broke the quiet serenity. "...So...what now…?" He panted, glancing towards Knuckles. His companion glanced back at him, still unsure of what to think. After a few moments he rose to his feet – prompting Silver to do the same.

"So...you said you haven't been able to get in contact with anyone. Sonic? Tails? Amy? Shadow?" He asked, rattling off the names that immediately came to mind.  
"No, no, no, and I don't even **know** how to get in touch with Shadow." Silver replied, letting out a huff as he placed a hand on his hip. "I want to set things straight on the surface, for the sake of **my** future, Knuckles. Generations after generations of people – including people in this time as well as my own – suffer because of Eggman's hostile takeover. I can't do this alone. I'll need your help." He then pointed at the echidna. "WE need your help!"

Knuckles paused for a long while. He simply stared at the hedgehog with a hardened expression, with only the occasional breeze to stave the nervous heat creeping its way up Silver's body. The time traveler felt a sense of relief wash over him when he saw his companion finally begin to speak. "...Fine. Count me in." He sighed, closing his eyes solemnly.

"Yesss!" Silver chuckled, smirking as he pumped his fists into the air.

"From what I can see, you're not trying to pull a fast one on me...or being manipulated by some big bad into doing their dirty work." Knuckles stated, dusting his hands off. "So why not? Besides, if the world's in trouble, it's my duty as guardian of the Master Emerald to put a stop to it. Something bad happening on the surface can only be bad for Angel Island." He added – ignoring the unimpressed look Silver bore.

"...Rudeness and projecting aside, I'd be more than honored to fight alongside you." The hedgehog replied. Knuckles simply shook his head. "Well, let's get going! We have a lot of work to do, and we still need to get down to the surface-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down." The echidna interjected, roughly pressing a hand to Silver's chest. "First thing's first, we have to make sure the Master Emerald isn't going to be snatched up by anyone while I'm gone." He announced. Silver's eyes widened.

"Oh...right! Right, right, right!" The hedgehog gasped. "If the enemy were to get their hands on the Master Emerald while we were gone, we'd be in even more trouble than before!"  
"Exactly. We need to move now, before any more badniks arrive." Knuckles sighed. He turned his back to Silver, before walking away. The hedgehog watched with confusion – he had expected him to bring the Master Emerald with them to its hiding place. "…Well? Pick the emerald up, slowpoke!" The echidna called as he walked, much to Silver's surprise. "And **do not drop it**."

"O-Oh…! Right!" Silver gasped. He immediately raced towards the Master Emerald. Despite its size, the object was much easier to carry with his psychokinetic powers than he imagined. A part of the hedgehog believed its protector somehow willed the gem to be so easy to carry, though that much was uncertain to him, if not outright unbelievable. Regardless, he pulled the glowing gem out of its resting place.

Through the jungle the three bodies moved. In the lead was Knuckles, the bright-red echidna, his brows furrowed as he glared at the world ahead of him. Serving as the end of the group was the silver-colored hedgehog, using his powers to lift the middle of the two – a massive, glowing emerald. Silver made a few attempts to chat with Knuckles as they walked, but he was dismayed to find that his companion wasn't receptive.

The peace of Knuckles' home had once again been tainted. That was a far greater concern to him than any of the hedgehog's prattling questions, as well-intended as they may have been. He silently cursed the man he knew was responsible for such a transgression, but he knew they could only act after they secured the Master Emerald. That was his duty, first and foremost.

'I'll teach you a lesson you'll never forget, Eggman...' Knuckles thought to himself. He pounded both of his fists together – the impact causing Silver to grimace hesitantly. 'I'm the guardian of the Master Emerald. You mess with me, you're asking for the butt-kicking of a lifetime. You just made the worst mistake of your life!' With those words echoing in his mind, Knuckles picked up the pace and increased his speed – heading further into the jungle. Silver followed closely behind, keeping up the best he could while carrying the gem his companion coveted so greatly.

_"__The thing is...we had no idea what was waiting for us out there. That one badnik was only the beginning, and boy...was it an easy start. We'd learn just how in for it we were a short while later..."_


	4. Chapter 4

_"The horrors I witnessed that day were unspeakable. Lives were lost, families were separated, and I bore witness to one of the worst transgressions imaginable in a crisis such as that. It's strange...even when you've only been familiar with someone for a short time, witnessing something as heartbreaking as betrayal __between friends __can still invoke __the __sympathy __of a stranger__..."_

The peaceful township of Seaside City was often known for the beauty it quite easily boasted to tourists. With the location established just a short distance away from Seaside Hill – the gorgeous beach the city was named after – one could enjoy the hustle and bustle of the metropolitan lifestyle while living close to the water. With a view of Whale Island just peeking out in the distance, the locals had much to call their pride and joy.

As beautiful as their home may have been compared to others, however, the citizens of Seaside City had little to appreciate when it was all reduced to that of a warzone. Fire burned away at a majority of the buildings, and several skyscrapers had been reduced to rubble by heavy cannon-fire. Hovering over the city was a large battleship, which continuously fed the chaos by ejecting more robotic soldiers, who simply floated down into the streets.

One of these metallic soldiers – a bright-orange badnik – beeped eagerly as it grew close enough to the ground below to let go of the umbrella it used to slow its descent. Behind it were several other robots almost identical to it, all scouring the area with their beady blue eyes. After a few moments of deliberation, they all retrieved comically-large laser guns that matched their color. The pack glanced around curiously until a sudden scream caught their attention.

A sudden form rushed past the robots, and each egg-pawn watched with delight as a small, male raccoon attempted to flee. They immediately decided to give chase, running after him and firing their lasers with the intent to only create more destruction. Their victim only screamed and cried more upon noticing that the violent grunt soldiers had trained their sights on him.

The chase lasted for only a few minutes before one of the egg pawns were able to land their mark. A laser skimmed the raccoon's ankle, causing him to trip on his feet and hit the pavement. He cried out in pain, rolling across the ground for a few moments before ramming into a piece of rubble. His mind racing for some sort of solution, his heart pounding against his chest, the fleeing civilian watched in horror as his attackers slid to a halt just a few yards away.

There wasn't much debate between the robots over who would get the opportunity to add the raccoon to their list of casualties. The leader of the pack immediately stepped forward, clutching its weapon and pointing it directly at his heart. 'Is...is this it?' The boy thought to himself, sweat pouring down his face. 'Am I just gonna...get taken out...here…?' The will to survive definitely continued to flow through him, there was no doubt there. What seemed to stop the raccoon in his tracks was the inability to escape the clutches of his captors. Whether he liked it or not, he was completely at their mercy.

That was until what appeared to be a trashcan suddenly rammed into the egg pawn at blinding speeds – immediately knocking it away from its victim and throwing it against a wall. Both the raccoon and his attackers watched in awe as what remained of the robot fell to the ground with a dull thud. Sparks flew from the pawn's crumpled body, but the light in its eyes were gone.

"Hey!" A rough voice shouted, causing the group to look in the opposite direction. Much to their surprise, they found three bodies standing atop a bus that had been thrown onto its side. The largest and most imposing of the group, a beefy, green crocodile, crossed his arms as he glared down at the robots. "You know, boys, I was thinking to myself we had a pretty interesting mystery going on here in the city..." He growled. "But it turns out that those 'mystery troublemakers' were just a bunch of Eggman's goons!"

"Mystery solved, Boss. But that was only part of the job." A soft-spoken chameleon stated, holding his clasped hands close to his purple body. "Our mission consisted of not only finding these attackers, but ridding the city of them as well." He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the third person – a small, childish bee that zipped from one place to the next, all the while taunting the robots with funny faces.

"Yeah, cuz that's what heroes do!" The bee cheered, pumping his fists upwards. He was immediately grabbed out of the sky by the crocodile, who squeezed him with his hand as he pulled the boy close.

"We're not **heroes**, Charmy! We're **detectives**!" The brutish lizard warned. "Heroes don't get paid, after all!"

"Awww, but Vectooorrrr!" Charmy whined, squirming in his companion's grip. "You said protecting the city was our duty, not just some job!" This caused the crocodile he called 'Vector' to blush somewhat. He was eventually freed from their leader's hand, and immediately darted towards the quieter of the two. "Right, Espio?" He giggled.

"Well...I certainly don't mind considering this part of our contract, but I don't remember anyone specifically hiring us to find out about these attackers, either..." Espio chuckled, trying his best to hide his smile from Vector while he thumbed his own horn. "And I faintly remember someone **volunteering** our team to help with the evacuation of the city..." He and Charmy couldn't help but snicker as they watched their large green companion begin to stomp his foot angrily.

"Enough with the yappin' and get to the trappin'! We can't let any of those robots get away with more than they already have!" Vector shouted, steam shooting out of his ears as his face became red. His companions immediately nodded in agreement, and all three leaped from the fallen vehicle in unison. They landed only a short distance away from the egg pawns.

"Alright, boys! Let's remind these punks why Team Chaotix are the only goons allowed to be in this town!" Vector ordered, cracking his knuckles threateningly.

An all-out brawl immediately broke out then and there, with the egg pawns pulling their guns on the newcomers and the Chaotix charging forward. Espio was the quickest to act out of the bunch, with him throwing two knives at the robots with a grunt. One weapon successfully sunk into the robotic skull of an egg pawn. This caused the ninja chameleon to smirk, though he wasn't allowed to celebrate his victory for long before a series of lasers were shot out of nowhere. He disappeared out of the air, completely vanishing. While this surprised the egg pawns, Charmy and Vector saw the event as an everyday occurrence.

Vector growled as he ducked underneath a few laser shots, before lunging forward and grabbing two of the mechanical soldiers by their faces. He immediately threw them to the ground, crushing their heads, and dragged their crumpled forms across the concrete for good measure. "You boys think you're so tough with your numbers, but you ain't nothin' compared to us!" The crocodile roared, before tossing his two victims into another nearby badnik.

"Yeah! We're super **duper** strong!" Charmy cheered. "Hey, hey! Hey Vector! Hey Vector!" The bee called, buzzing around the crocodile as he wrestled with an egg pawn. "Hey hey hey! Hey! Hey!" His insistent chattering eventually caused Vector to lose his cool, as he let out a mighty roar and bit into the robot's face. He spat out a few robotic and electronic parts, before glaring at the flying child.

"WHAT!?" The crocodile roared, an angry fire dancing in his eyes.

"Throw me! Throw me!" Charmy giggled, pointing to his stinger. Vector wasted no time in obliging, grabbing the bee by his forehead. With a loud grunt, the crocodile threw Charmy at the remaining robots with as much force as he could muster. "YAHOOOOOO! BANZAI BEE!" The child screamed happily as he shot through the two badniks, riddling their bodies with small explosions after he passed through them.

Vector huffed with aggravation and slight fatigue as he glanced around the area. The egg pawns had been dealt with, meaning they were clear of any potential interruptions for the time being. Espio reappeared next to the crocodile, and Charmy – resisting the urge to vomit from the intense velocity and impact – buzzed around the two. The three then turned to the downed raccoon, who watched them with wide eyes.

It didn't take long for Vector to approach the civilian, who cried out fearfully as the crocodile roughly lifted him from the ground. Mammal and lizard stared each other down, one glaring thoughtfully while the other trembled in his grasp. "...What do ya' think you're doin', running around on your own like this!?" Vector eventually barked, causing the boy to cringe. "You need to get to the evacuation point soon, okay? They'll take off without you otherwise!"

"You – you understand where Acorn Street is, correct?" Espio asked while pointing at the raccoon. After being met with a nod, he continued. "Go there immediately. The last few shuttles are getting ready to depart, so you'll truly be on your own if you don't move now."

"Yeah, yeah! You gotta get moving!" Charmy insisted. Vector set the raccoon on the ground, before spinning him around and roughly pushing him away. The raccoon stumbled a bit, but managed to stay on his feet. For a moment, he glanced back at the heroes who saved him.

"Th...thank you…!" The boy gasped – the first and only words the Chaotix would ever hear from him. Vector let out a small grunt as he and Espio turned their backs on him. Charmy, meanwhile, hovered in place while he flashed the civilian a thumbs-up.

"Just go. It's our job to make sure those robots don't get to you or the others while you're tryin' to escape!" The crocodile called back, before fixing his attention on what laid ahead. He felt his frown thin slightly as the sound of pattering footsteps grew distant. "Alright, boys. You know what to do." Vector stated. "We charge on ahead and show the creep commanding these troops who exactly they're messing with!" Espio and Charmy immediately readied themselves to take off.

"Yes sir!" Charmy cheered, looping through the air in preparation.

"Roger." Espio muttered as he glared ahead. He was the first to take off, sprinting ahead while having one of his kunai at the ready. Charmy followed closely behind, him being in the air giving him a bit of an advantage over Vector – who just barely served as the end of the group's formation. The group managed to plow their way through Seaside City's streets, with projectiles thrown by Espio easily dispatching any straggling robots that happened to wander into their path.

Upon reaching one of the city's many plazas, the group were unfortunate enough to find that the entire area had been ransacked and thoroughly ruined by Eggman's robots. Most of the surrounding buildings were on fire, and large parts of the ground had been overturned or blasted into rubble. All that remained were a few egg pawns, which were hard at work further damaging the area. The team swiftly ducked behind a large piece of debris – to avoid detection.

"You seein' this, boys…?" Vector gasped, his eyes widening for a moment, before narrowing angrily once again. "They're just...destroyin'...just for the sake of destroyin' something. They don't make any sense!" He growled. Charmy nodded, and swung at the air in a fit of rage.

"Grr! Those meanies! I hate Eggman!" He whined.

"Boss...this seems off. The doctor's attacks are often more tactical than this." Espio admitted, his eyes scanning the area. "We almost never see his forces wipe out an area completely – nor focus so much on material casualties. This is a far cry from the typical Eggman strike." The chameleon felt his back arch slightly. He was already on edge.

"You're right, Espio...someone else is commandin' these troops. And I can't wait to meet the jerk who's doin' all this!" Vector replied. "Now go and wipe out those last few. We don't need any of 'em sneaking up on us while we clear out the next street." The crocodile's command was met with an obedient nod. Espio immediately became invisible once again, and Vector and Charmy turned to watch as one egg pawn after another was mysteriously broken to pieces. Once the coast was clear, the other two approached the center of the plaza.

"Mission accomplished." Espio announced, reappearing directly next to Vector. The crocodile flinched from the sudden sound and appearance of their purple companion. "We now have the option of two separate pathways, leading further into the downtown-"  
"Gah! Would ya **stop** with the reappearin' next to me thing!?" Vector interrupted, placing a hand over his chest. "Crocodiles are supposed to live pretty long, y'know, but I won't be able to find out for myself if ya keep scarin' me like that!" Espio and Charmy opened their mouths, most likely to mock their leader for his comedic moment of weakness, but they were immediately cut off themselves by another noise.

A laugh suddenly echoed throughout the plaza – the tone of it being cold, mirthless, and intimidating. This noise immediately sent a chill up Charmy and Vector's spines, while signaling Espio to be on guard. The chameleon's eyes immediately darted throughout the area. He immediately appreciated his decision to look to the rooftops first, as he spotted the source of the laughter glaring down at them from above. His companions soon followed his line of sight, and glared up at the newcomer.

"Well, well...if it isn't a few fellow cold-blooded warriors." Zavok chuckled, his yellow eyes staring daggers into Espio's. "So you're the ones playing games with **my** army..."

"I believe we've found the one who organized this attack specifically." Espio warned, his gaze sharpening.

"You mean...the bad guy…?" Charmy gasped, covering his mouth with his tiny hands.

"Oh, great. Another big bad." Vector huffed as he crossed his arms. "I've heard about you from Sonic...you're that Zavok guy, aren'tcha? The one that tried sucking up all the energy out of the world? That would explain why ya got no problem tearin' it apart with these borrowed hands..." The crocodile gestured to the remains of the egg pawns Espio had dealt with. He was met with a curt nod from the red monster.

"Indeed. As you can see, Eggman's army under **my** leadership is far more efficient at conquering its foes." Zavok growled. He gestured to the destruction around them with what appeared to be a smirk on his spiky lips.

"I'd hardly call this efficient. You're leveling the city instead'a conquerin' it!" Vector growled, his face contorting into one of rage. "And from one chump to another – if there's one thing I can't stand more than anything, it's someone who goes out of their way to hurt people or do damage for no reason!" The crocodile shouted, pointing at their enemy. This caused Zavok's smirk to falter, and his glare hardened.

"Your actions have neither grace nor reason. This is clearly the behavior and actions of a man with no goal or real ambition." Espio added.

"Yeah! You're just a big ol' meanie coward!" Charmy called, sticking his tongue out at the monster rudely.

With a grunt, Zavok threw himself from the rooftop – aiming directly towards the three heroes below. His action was enough to scatter the team, as they all let out cries and desperately moved out of the way. Their opponent shook the ground upon making contact with the street, even kicking up a bit of dirt and pebbles as well. "I won't allow a circus troupe pretending to be heroes have their moment to laugh, not after what that blue runt has done to me." He growled, stepping threateningly towards Vector. Charmy and Espio were immediately put on edge, but their leader stood his ground. "I had considered simply letting you run away, but...now that I've discovered you have quite the mouths on you, I feel inclined to beat some manners into you."  
"Humph...funny, I was gonna say the exact same thing!" Vector growled, his eyes gleaming. Both he and Zavok stared each other down, standing only yards away from each other as they desperately fought to find the chink in their armor – all the while using only their nasty glares. After a few moments however, both were forced to simply take action with their fists.

Zavok was the first to swing, shouting angrily as he aimed to punch a hole through Vector's head. The crocodile succeeded in ducking under the attack – leaving his attacker open to a counter. He angrily bashed his glove fists against the monster's stomach in the hopes of knocking him over. His opponent hardly flinched, however, and he hardly seemed to be losing his balance. Zavok roared angrily as he suddenly lunged forward, tackling Vector to the ground and sending them rolling across the pavement.

"Boss!" Charmy and Espio cried, their eyes widening. They watched in horror as the two brawlers rolled across the ground, with Zavok eventually coming out on top. All Vector could do was grip the monster's wrists with both of his hands, hoping he could hold him off enough for the others to intervene. "You get off of him, you ugly meanie jerk!" Charmy cried as he charged towards Zavok. He pointed his stinger at the back of his head, ready to deliver a punishing sting. Unfortunately, he was easily smacked away by the monster's lengthy tail.

Espio, on the other hand, had sneaked up on Zavok from the side while his partners distracted him from his back and front. The chameleon suddenly appeared next to their opponent – his invisibility disappearing the moment he kicked at his face. Zavok was unable to avoid the ninja's foot, which kicked him directly on the nose. This attack managed to force their enemy to flinch, giving Vector the opportunity to strike back. He pressed his feet against his attacker's chest, before using both his arm and leg strength to force him off and send him flying backwards.

"Gah!" The red monster shouted, stumbling across the ground as he landed. He was quick enough to force himself to his feet and slide to a halt – kicking up more dirt and rubble as he did so. "Cheap tricks won't work on me a second time. You just used your one successful attack." Zavok called to Espio. The ninja didn't seem perturbed by this threat, as he immediately returned to his invisible state.

"We don't do tricks, buddy! We walk the path straight and narrow!" Vector growled. He then charged forward again, roaring as he aimed to punch Zavok. His opponent easily caught his hand, and both were forced to pause while they wrestled for superiority. To Vector's dismay, he found that as Zavok slowly opened his mouth, he could see an orange light at the back of his throat grow brighter.

"Oh crap!" Vector cried, ducking as a massive fireball shot out of Zavok's mouth. The flaming projectile nearly burned the crocodile's scales, as it only barely passed overhead. With his opponent distracted, Zavok kneed him in the chest with as much force as he could muster, sending the crocodile flying across the square. The red monster couldn't help but chuckle after seeing his enemy fall to the ground, as well as the look on Charmy's face.

"Vector!" The bee shouted. Charmy looked from his leader to his attacker, and quickly decided that he'd avenge them. "Alright, bad guy! You asked for it!" He called as he raced towards their enemy. Before he could even make the attempt at stinging him, however, Zavok forcefully grabbed him out of the air. "H-Hey! Let me go!" The boy cried, struggling for his freedom.

"Well...if you insist..." The monster chuckled. His eyes gleamed dangerously as he dropped Charmy to the ground, before kicking him across the plaza as well. He felt a great sense of catharsis when he saw the trash-talking bee slam against a piece of uprooted concrete. All that was left was the third member of the Chaotix.

Zavok suddenly spun around, lashing his tail and fists at the air. What may have looked like a random attack was revealed to be a wise decision on the monster's part, as his tail made contact with something that was a few feet to his right. He smirked as he spotted Espio suddenly appear after being struck by the appendage. "As I said – I do not fool for the same trick TWICE!" Zavok roared, punching Espio in the face. The ninja was sent rolling across the ground – his body eventually skidding to a halt next to Vector's.

"Gah...this guy is tough...and there's just one of him!" Vector grumbled as he picked himself off the ground. Charmy and Espio were a tad slower to do so as well, though they managed to do it all the same. 'No wonder it took Sonic and Tails to beat him...where the heck are those two, anyway!?' The crocodile thought to himself. He shook his head vigorously in an attempt to pull himself together. 'Nevermind that...me and the boys gotta pull a fast one on him, or else this city's gonna get completely wasted!'

"I've lost my patience with you three. I was wrong to call you warriors – you're more comparable to a group of bumbling idiots." Zavok stated, walking closer to the center of the plaza. The Chaotix watched as their enemy pressed his middle and index finger to his temple, before pointing them at the three.

The plaza was invaded once again moments later, with egg pawns armed to the teeth with lasers running in from the alleyways and streets. Vector, Charmy, and Espio watched in horror as a dozen of the badniks lined themselves in front of Zavok, while six more lined the sides of the already disadvantaged team. They glared at the army's leader, who simply gave them another cold, mirthless laugh. "Your pathetic story ends here, gator. I'm sure your hide will make a nice handbag." The monster laughed.

"How many times do I gotta tell people, I'm not a gator! I'm a crocodile!" Vector groaned.

"Boss, we have more pressing matters at hand here." Espio gasped, sweat starting to trickle down what was normally a calmed chameleon's body. His demeanor was showing signs of cracking.

"Wh-What do we do, Vector!?" Charmy squeaked in fear. Their leader opened his mouth to recommend they flee, but the clicking of the enemy's weapons was enough to silence him for the time being. The bee ducked behind him, using him as a meat-shield while he peered over his shoulder, shaking nervously.

Just as the horde of robots were moments away from unleashing a hail of lasers into the three, a loud sound echoed throughout the plaza. The near-deafening noise was enough to catch the egg pawns and their leader off-guard, causing the group to look around in confusion. Vector and his companions searched for the source of the sound as well, all while in a similar state of confusion.

Another cracking sound echoed throughout the area, this time much louder, as the six robots to the Chaotix's right suddenly crumpled to the ground. Their bodies were bent and dented, with what appeared to be lash marks clear on their metal frames. Vector and Charmy turned to see what the source of the enemy robots' destruction was while Espio kept his eyes on Zavok, but they found nothing. When they heard the sound of the robots that were previously to their left be destroyed as well, all three immediately spun around to catch a glimpse.

Standing atop one of the ruined egg pawns was a girl, staring down at the Chaotix from her perch. From the distinct shape of her head and tail, Vector was immediately able to identify her as some kind of feline. The newcomer stood closest to Espio's height, though her refined posture and boots made her seem a tad-bit taller. She hopped down from badnik, landing next to the three heroes.

"I assume you need some help?" The cream-colored feline questioned. Upon seeing the girl get closer, both Vector and Espio couldn't help but grow nervous. She wore a piece of clothing that only covered her chest and lower torso, leaving her arms and legs completely bare, save for the rubber gloves and aforementioned boots. The fur atop her head was tied into a ponytail, which reached just past her head. To them she seemed exotic, almost promiscuous – though Charmy saw her more comparable to an entertainer.

"Hooray, the circus is in town!" The bee cheered, pumping his fists in the air. His bold reaction caused the girl to scowl at him, though her cheeks turning pink betrayed her angry expression.

"Assistance from a civilian is ill-advised." Espio interrupted. "...But then again, you don't seem to be a civilian." He added, looking her over once again. The girl nodded.

"We'll take all the help we can get, but you're not getting paid!" Vector growled. He then looked towards Zavok and his badniks. "...You sure you can fight?" The crocodile asked, glancing back at the newcomer. Their rescuer simply rolled her eyes. She retrieved a small, gold-colored handle from her side, before pressing her thumb against a silver button. With a flick of her wrist, the girl summoned a whip made purely from electricity, lashing at the air and emitting sparks. "...As long as you don't hit me with that, go ahead!" Vector gasped.

"Enough!" Zavok roared, regaining the four's attention. "The only thing an extra ally will give you is a few more smears under my foot. I'll kill you all the same!" His angered shouts caused a few pebbles to shake, as well as intimidate Charmy enough for him to cover his ears. Vector, Espio, and their newfound ally immediately leaped into fighting stances.

"Espio, Charmy, you handle the grunts. New girl and I will handle big, red, and ugly." Vector growled. His teammates nodded in agreement, before sprinting forward. Upon Zavok's command, the egg pawns immediately unleashed their projectiles – firing relentlessly at the group with their lasers.

Charmy, armed with his natural air control, speed, and small size, was able to maneuver through the lasers with ease. Espio's answer to the series of attacks was for him to temporarily blink in and out of visibility, disappearing just long enough to make his enemies incapable of guessing what his next move would be. Their feline companion was nimble and agile, providing her a means to comfortably escape the projectiles as she flanked them from the left. Vector, meanwhile, relied entirely on luck as he flanked their right. He found it extremely fortunate that those directly charging towards the robots were more of a priority.

Espio and Charmy were the first to reach their opponents, due almost entirely to their greater speeds and direct path. The chameleon immediately dispatched two of the pawns with kunai that passed directly through their heads, before being forced to vanish on the spot when another robot took a swing at him. "Charmy!" Espio's voice called as he punched a hole through his attacker.

"I got it, I got it!" Charmy sighed. The boy had preoccupied himself by poking holes into the chest of a badnik with his stinger. After hearing Espio's call, however, he immediately flew to the ninja's side as he reappeared. "Can we do the thing? Can we? Can we!?" He asked, his grin widening as he clenched his fists. Upon seeing his companion nod, the boy was sent into a flurry of rapid movement. "Hooray! Yay!"

"Get ready…!" Espio ordered, before retrieving two comically-large ninja stars from seemingly nowhere. He tossed one to Charmy, who nearly dropped it due to the sudden weight being forced on him. The bee persevered, however, and held the weapon up triumphantly. "Like a shadow of the night, my kind use these weapons to deliver a swift and decisive end to those we take aim towards..."

"These are the stars of the ninja!" Charmy and Espio said in unison. The bee was spinning around in a circular motion as he readied himself to throw. Espio, meanwhile, leaned back while he prepared himself to toss his weapon. "With our powers combined, we'll create an inescapable path of destruction. This is the will of many generations!" They cried, before unleashing their ninja stars and sending them flying towards the egg pawns. Charmy cheered as he watched their blades cut through and destroyed each of the remaining robots. Espio, on the other hand, managed to flash him a proud smile.

Their attention was immediately turned away from the destruction when Zavok rushed towards them, roaring as he pulled back a fist, ready to pummel them for destroying his troops. Before he could punch the cowering bee or surprised chameleon, however, he felt something suddenly wrap itself around his fist – preventing him from swinging it towards the two. Upon glancing back, the red monster was shocked to find the Chaotix's ally, pulling with all her might on the electric whip she held. Glancing down at his fist, Zavok realized the rope wrapped around his limb was glowing a bright yellow.

The feline felt sweat pour down her cheeks as she fought to keep Zavok's arm in place. "H-His...his hide is too thick for my whip's electricity to shock him!" She reported, glancing towards Espio and Charmy. It appeared she had intended to not only rescue them, but to scout as much of her enemy as possible. Zavok's brow furrowed, seemingly more annoyed than he was angered or injured. With a grunt, he grabbed a hold of the whip with his other hand, before attempting to pull her into his range.

A sudden ram to the back from Vector was enough to stop him in his tracks, however, sending him stumbling forward. His opponent immediately retracted her whip and leaped out of his way. Zavok roared angrily as he spun around, glaring at Vector. "You!" He roared, immediately charging towards him. Espio and Charmy were quick to intervene, with the bee swarming around his head and blocking his vision, while the chameleon kicked and punched at his knees. "Gah! Why must the both of you be complete nuisances!?" Flames began spilling out of his mouth, before Zavok shot a fireball towards them. This forced his two opponents to leap out of the way – leaving them open to an attack.

Once again Zavok felt his hand forced into place – preventing him from lunging forward and punishing his opponents. Glancing to his right, however, he found that the one halting his progress was none other than Vector. When he attempted to use his other hand to swat him away, the monster realized that Charmy and Espio were combining their strength to hold him back.

"Hey! They might be a couple of nuisances, but they're **my** nuisances!" Vector growled, glaring directly into their enemy's eyes. "And without them, Team Chaotix wouldn't be the same...probably because it'd just be Team Vector, and nobody wants that!"

With Zavok distracted by Vector's banter and the three of them holding him in place, the tyrant was forced to stand in place as the fourth hero flipped over his head, landing directly in front of him. "Your bloodthirsty behavior is despicable. I'll put an end to that…!" She cried, before reactivating her whip. Zavok attempted to shoulder the pain for the first few lashes. The shock of the electricity was nullified by his thick skin, but that didn't do anything to ease the pain of the whip itself slashing against him. After a dozen lashes, the monster eventually gave in to his own pain, and let out a roar of frustration, anger, and agony.

"Now!" The feline cried, wrapping her whip around the arm that Vector held in his place. She swapped places with the crocodile, who placed himself directly in front of Zavok. He began winding back his fist, readying himself for a final hit.

"Alright ya big lug! Here comes the boom!" Vector roared as he swung forward. He slammed his fist directly into Zavok's jaw – causing a small bit of drool and a few pain-induced tears to fly from his face. Espio, Charmy, and their unnamed ally let go at the last second, allowing Zavok to go flying through the air. All four watched confidently as the monster slammed into the wall of a building, before falling into a pile of debris.

"We did it! Yeah!" Charmy cheered. The childish bee flew around over the heads of his companions, striking several heroic poses as he did so. He was quickly snatched out of the air, however, by Vector. "Oof-!" The boy gasped as he and Espio were pulled into a rough hug by their leader. While surprised and uncomfortable at first, both laughed.

"Good work, boys! We bagged our first mythical bad guy all on our own. We're finally on our way to havin' Sonic's kind of resume!" Vector laughed, flashing the two a toothy grin. "I think we all deserve a good meal after that!"

"Yeah-ha! No instant-noodles tonight! Yaaayyyy!" Charmy giggled. In the moment, he didn't realize that comment about instant-noodles (Vector's signature dish) might have offended his friend. Espio suddenly pulled away from the others, brushing himself off.

"A foe was defeated, but our mission has yet to be finished." The ninja warned. "Plus, our success was not entirely of our own doing. We had help from a mysterious ally..." Vector and Charmy nodded in agreement, and all three turned to see the feline. Oddly enough, she stood a few yards away from the others – most likely respecting their space. Espio and his teammates approached her moments later.

"Hey!" Vector cried, causing the feline to flinch. In the quiet, peaceful aftermath of the battle, his sudden shouting was enough to startle her. "We really appreciate the help back there, Miss. I know I said we weren't gonna pay ya for your help, but..." He paused for a moment, considering whether or not he would really follow through with proper repayment. "...we're really grateful!" The stingy crocodile said with a nervous smile. This didn't go unnoticed by their ally, who gave him a small smile. "I don't believe I got your name during all that brawling."

"You don't need to repay me, and you didn't get my name because I didn't tell you." The girl chuckled. "I am Ambur. A lynx, if you were trying to guess my species this whole time." She explained, glancing back at Charmy as he attempted to catch her swishing tail. Ambur entertained the bee's curiosity, not chastising him for rudely poking and prodding the appendage. "It is nice to meet you, though I didn't seem to catch your- Wh-whoa!" She gasped. The girl had began to reach out for a handshake, and was met with Vector grabbing and vigorously shaking it.

"The name's Vector! Espio's the purple one, and the little one bugging your tail is Charmy!" The crocodile greeted. He eventually released Ambur, leaving the lynx to stare at him with a mixture of shock and exasperation.

"I have more traits to my name other than my color, you know..." Espio mumbled as he crossed his arms. Charmy, who managed to hear his complaint, flew over to him.

"Yeah! Like how you speak so quietly you need a megaphone just so people can hear you!" The bee teased. He was immediately met with a hard swat to his front from his the back of his companion's hand, sending him flying backwards. "Whoa!"

"I've heard rumors that the Chaotix's base of operations were situated here in this city, though that was not the reason for my coming here." Ambur stated, immediately shooting down the theory of her being a fan that Vector was forming. "I'm lucky to have run into you three – I'm not convinced even our numbers can defend this city, let alone just myself."

"Yeah, that ain't the point, sweetheart." Vector sighed, crossing his arms. "We've evacuated as much of the city as we could, but we were never going to win the battle. It's only a matter of time before Eggman's goons roll over the city and wipe it out." He explained. "Right now it's just a matter of the rest of us getting out of here while we can..."

To Vector's surprise, what seemed to be anger flashed in Ambur's eyes. "You mean you aren't going to reclaim the city? But this is the home of many people...you're just content with allowing these monsters to destroy it? That's-" She immediately stopped herself, taking small breaths while she regained her composure. "...My apologies..."

"Those who survive a war know when to pick their battles. We are outnumbered and outmatched. If we continue with fighting Eggman's forces, we will inevitably be overwhelmed." Espio countered.

"Yeah...we wouldn't abandon our home if we didn't have to!" Charmy whined, his antenna drooping as his face became crestfallen.

"A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do...we'll win all of this back once we organize with Sonic and the others, but right now...we gotta leave the city before we get dragged down in all this." Vector sighed.

"You're right. I wasn't fair with you a moment ago..." Ambur admitted. "I'm just not used to this level of destruction. I...ran into a few villages here and there on my way here, but the forces sent there were small, and easy to take care of with the help of the population's defenses. I suppose I was in over my head coming to this place, so now I'm doubly-thankful I ran into you before I dug myself into a hole." She explained, nodding towards the three.

"All part of a good Samaritan's duty." Vector replied. He unfolded his arms to place his hands on his hips. "But what you said just now...I take it that you've been traveling alone, huh? No friends here in the city?" He asked.

"I traveled alone for the most part, though I did encounter a few armed civilians fighting back here in the city earlier." Ambur said. "I didn't plan on staying with them, but they did inform me of where I could find them if they weren't successful in putting a dent in these robots. I can take you there if you'd like."

"Considering we've probably missed our flight out of this city, if there's someone with a plan that can help us lay-low for now, that's probably the best we can get at the moment!" Vector grumbled. "Alright, show us the way!" He announced. Ambur flashed him a smile, before turning to walk out of the plaza.

Before any of the four could act, however, they heard a loud roar echo throughout the area. They spun around, and were shocked to see Zavok force himself out of the rubble. "RAH! I will NOT allow any more pestilent "heroes" get in my way anymore!" The monster roared, before bellowing a stream of fire into the air. This violent display of anger immediately put his opponents on guard, all four of them hopping into fighter's stances.

"Get ready, boys...and girl! It looks like we're going into overtime!" Vector called. "Prepare to see some fireworks!" Team Chaotix, Zavok, and Ambur all readied to rush into battle once again, though the start of their fight was immediately cut short.

Everyone's attention was called away from the enemy in front of them when they heard what was comparable to a jet engine grow louder. Just as the sound grew near-deafening in its volume, they watched as a large, broad-shouldered, human-shaped robot leaped into the square. Upon hitting the ground, brick and rubble was sent flying, some even nearly hitting Charmy out of the air.

"Speaking of fireworks!" Vector chuckled, glancing at the bright red, heavily-armored robot. He let out another laugh when he noticed that Ambur appeared extremely intimidated. "Haha! Don't worry one bit...Omega here is a good guy...sort of. He hates Eggman's guts, even more than we do!" The crocodile explained. The robot Vector called 'Omega' glanced towards the Chaotix, before turning its attention to Zavok. "You're really in for it now, buddy! This robot can lay down a butt-kicking like no one else's business!"

Much to Vector and the others' dismay, this turn of events didn't seem to bother their opponent in the slightest. Zavok began to chuckle, his eyes narrowing even more as he pulled himself out of the wreckage. "Pahahaha...Ahahahaha! Oh, how ironic this truly turned out to be..." The monster chuckled. "Omega, perhaps you should greet your friends properly..."

Omega was silent for a few moments, before spinning around and facing the Chaotix once again. His red eyes glowed brightly as several panels in his body opened up, revealing large guns and other heavy weapons. He immediately fired a few rounds at the group, though they seemed to only be warning shots. Vector, Charmy, Espio, and Ambur all immediately scrambled for safety, resulting in them diving and hiding behind a piece of rubble.

"Some friend you have!" Ambur gasped, looking to Vector in horror.

"Aw, c'mon! He normally doesn't shoot at us like this!" The crocodile groaned. He peeked his head over their cover, glaring at Zavok and the robot. "Hey Omega, what gives? You're not supposed to shoot at a friend like that, aren't you!?" Another assortment of bullets shot towards Vector, causing him to duck once again. "Are you still mad about what happened in Grand Metropolis? I told you, that was all just a misunderstanding!" He cried.

"Memory registry: access denied." Omega replied with his dull, harsh voice. "Targets of interest – Team Chaotix. Threat level: minor. Mission parameters: eliminate. I will blast you away with the force of a thousand explosions." He announced.

"Threat level: minor? He truly thinks very little of us." Espio sighed. "This is a stain on my honor."

"Knock it off, Omega! Whose side are you on, anyway!?" Charmy cried.

"My loyalty lies with the Eggman Empire. Those of all other factions or loyalties are an enemy." Omega stated. Vector, Charmy, and Espio looked to each other, shocked.

"Gahaha! It seems there's been a shift in the winds..." Zavok growled, approaching the robot before stopping at his side. "Normally I wouldn't forgo the satisfaction of defeating you myself, but...I believe watching your own friend tear you apart should provide me its own sense of catharsis." The monster pointed directly at the rubble. "Blast them into oblivion!"

"Affirmative. Fire!" Omega shouted. He immediately unleashed several small missiles from within his body, which rocketed towards the rubble. Vector's eyes widened, and he grabbed a hold of Charmy and Ambur. "Espio! Move it!" The crocodile cried. He quickly sprinted away. Espio followed shortly behind, turning invisible to avoid being targeted by their enemies.

"Wh-What do we do!?" Ambur gasped, looking to her companions in horror.

"Run! Run! Runrunrunrunrun!" Vector shouted, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets as a few bullets grazed the ground he had leaped off of moments later. The Chaotix, their new friend in tow, sprinted out of the plaza and into the street they had entered from mere minutes prior.

"Boss, we have to call this in…!" Espio gasped, reappearing next to Vector and Ambur while they ran for their lives. "Omega's gone rogue...or rather turncoat."

"That's so unlike him!" Charmy winced, squeezing one eye shut from the discomfort of Vector's grip.

"We gotta contact Sonic and Shadow. They'll know how to sort this out...and Shadow can answer for his no-good, bucket of bolts friend!" Their leader gasp, his glare sharpening. "Just you wait, Zavok…! Next time we go at it, you'll really see why you shouldn't mess with the Chaotix...and co!" He stated. The group continued to run as fast as they could, not slowing down or showing signs of stopping until they were well out of Zavok and Omega's sight.

Zavok watched with a great sense of satisfaction as the team that had managed to overwhelm him earlier were forced to flee. The robot, however, seemed far less lax. "Preparing to pursue. Movement-based combat: engaging..." Omega wasn't given much time to prepare, as his commander quickly held up a hand – cutting him short of taking off.

"Leave them. I prefer to see them run with their tails between their legs. Allow those fools to live with their failure while we destroy what they hold dearly." Zavok growled. Omega glanced towards his leader. The monster's choice was, at its core, far less logical than the decision to simply end them then and there. Yet Omega could not disobey, nor voice his disagreement. His commander's control prevented him from doing anything of the sort.

"Affirmative." Omega stated, turning away from the red monster. Zavok simply continued to stare out into the distance, his small chuckles quickly erupting into a series of cackles. His laughter shook all those who could hear it to their cores – filling them with a sense of dread and fear...one that the monster, with another victory under his belt, commanded quite easily.

Seaside City fell to Eggman's forces less than an hour later.


	5. Chapter 5

Silver wasn't sure how much time had passed while he and Knuckles traversed throughout Angel Island that day, though he was certain it was more than he had anticipated. The two walked from location to location, from mushroom hills to marble gardens – only stopping occasionally for Silver to rest and regain his stamina. All the while they moved, the sun slowly crept through the sky, before circling over the world and sinking into the horizon.

Nightfall was fresh in its cycle when the two companions escaped the near-freezing mountainous region of Ice Cap, sliding into and rolling through the brush of yet another lush jungle the island had to offer. Silver landed face-first in the grass – using all focus and determination he had to keep the Master Emerald from crashing into the ground next to him. Knuckles, on the other hand, landed spryly on his feet. "Heh...that's one way to clear your sinuses, I guess." The echidna chuckled, all the while brushing snow off his shoulder. He then glanced down at his companion. "You okay?" Seeing the hedgehog flash him a thumbs-up while still buried in the dirt made him chuckle.

Knuckles quickly picked his friend out of the dirt, before brushing the soil from his front and setting him on his feet. "Thanks for that..." Silver grunted, rubbing the back of his head nervously. His companion simply waved him away, before resuming their march once again. The hedgehog followed closely behind. "Er...Knuckles? As much as I love the scenery here on Angel Island, I gotta ask...are we actually **going** anywhere?" He questioned.

"Peh...I didn't take you as the type to complain so much." Knuckles joked, giving Silver a mockingly disappointed look. "Well if you **must** know, I can't just leave the Master Emerald laying around anywhere close to where its shrine is located. That's where Eggman's goons would look first! So I decided on a place to hide it if there were ever an instance where I needed to leave the island…" He explained. "It's not much farther from here. You don't need to worry about getting tired again."

"That **isn't** the concern." Silver huffed. He clearly didn't take his companion's comments in the same humorous light. "We need to get off Angel Island and find the others as soon as possible. There's no time to waste, especially knowing what happens in my time..."

"Speaking of which..." Knuckles interjected, glancing back at him. "You were kinda vague about this whole "ruined future" of yours. Care to explain a bit more to me? What exactly happens between now and then?" He asked. This line of questioning immediately caused Silver to grow uncomfortable – made clear by the crestfallen look on his face.

"As I said, upon returning to the future...I found that the entire planet was under Eggman's influence." The young hedgehog began to explain, his quills drooping slightly. "That evil doctor somehow managed to keep himself going, long after he should have withered with age. He rules over my world with an iron fist." Silver's eyes then darted towards the ground. "People live their lives in fear. Most have just...given up. They work in their labor camps, keep their heads down, and hope they aren't the ones who go missing in the middle of the night."

Knuckles was shocked to hear such a despondent explanation from his ally. Silver had always described the world he came from as a happy, carefree realm, with little strife and few villains wishing to ruin such peace. What he heard from the hedgehog then was a drastically different world. "Those who fight...they don't last long. They either run, give up, or are...captured." Silver continued. "Some even...you know..."

"Yeah, I know..." Knuckles sighed. What the echidna wasn't expecting, however, was the sudden passionate look in Silver's eyes. The two stared each other down, silent for a few moments while they exchanged their thoughts.

"Listen...I know I may not seem like the most reliable type all the time, but...I care about the world I come from. I fought for a while in that new future before I realized I had to return – and there are people I care about there. I will stop at nothing to make sure they don't have to suffer like they are right now...er, like how they will be." Silver announced. His brows furrowed. "So...I'm counting on you for your help, Knuckles. You and I have to trust each other and work as a team!"

The sound of the sole of shoes dragging against dirt echoed throughout the forest path as Knuckles suddenly came to a halt. Silver forced himself to stop as well, his face showing an expression of surprise after seeing his friend act so certainly. He felt his heart pound against his chest and an itch creep along his neck as he stared at the echidna – who simply glared at him. For a moment, he was certain he had said something that would earn him a punch to the face.

After a moment, however, Knuckles gave him a small smile. "Well...if we're being honest, it's true I don't think you're all that reliable. But no one ever said I was the reliable type, either." He conceded, crossing his arms. "But I'm willing to give us the chance to prove those stigmas wrong. I already said I'd help you, Silver, but this time I mean it...and I'll put my trust in you until you betray it." The echidna lazily closed one eye, before flashing him a toothy smile.

"That's...that's awesome! Great!" Silver cheered. He immediately stumbled forward, holding out his hand to shake Knuckles'. He was horrified to find that as he did so, the energy his body had used to hold the Master Emerald had depleted – resulting in it dropping out of the air. The hedgehog immediately panicked and dove to somehow cushion the fall. In a flash, Knuckles shoved Silver out of the way, before catching the Master Emerald and holding the gem easily in his hands.

Under the watchful glare of Knuckles, Silver slowly pulled himself to his feet and dusted himself off. "Uh...trusting each other...starting **now**?" The hedgehog suggested weakly. He was met with an eye-roll from his companion.

"Speaking of the Master Emerald, we're here." The echidna announced. He gently set his prized possession on the dirt path, before stepping towards the edge of the brush. Silver watched with intrigue as Knuckles began to fiddle and mess with the shrubbery, before pushing them aside and revealing a large hole. It was his turn to approach the edge of the clearing as Knuckles returned to the emerald. As he peered inside, the hedgehog was shocked to find a relatively spacious underground chamber – with flowers and a small stone platform nestled atop grass.

"Wow…! That looks amazing!" Silver gasped. He grimaced as he felt Knuckles bump into him, nearly knocking the boy into the pit below. "Wh-Whoa!"

"Thanks for the compliment, I dug it myself." Knuckles snorted, before grabbing a hold of his companion and dragging him back into the clearing. "Now here – hold onto the emerald for a second. You've recharged enough to do a bit more heavy-lifting, right?" He asked, gesturing to the Master Emerald – which had rested quite easily in his free hand.

"Y-Yeah...it should be..." Silver sighed. "How **do** you carry that thing so easily, anyway?" He questioned.

"Trade secret, buddy. If I told you I'd have to, uh...kick you off my island." Knuckles replied as he forced the emerald into Silver's psychokinetic grasp. "Be sure to bend your knees when you land!" The echidna added, before leaping into the hole. Silver watched as his companion landed a few feet away from the flowerbeds surrounding the rocky platform. "Alright! Lower it down nice and gently! I'll take it from there!" He ordered.

"Right!" Silver said with a nod. The hedgehog did as he was told, lifting the Master Emerald off the ground before lowering it into the hole. He was slow and meticulous, ensuring the gem wasn't knocked against anything as it inched towards Knuckles. Soon the emerald was reunited with its guardian, as Knuckles gratefully held out his arms and took their precious cargo – allowing Silver to surrender his hold of it. Silver hopped into the hole moments later.

"Easy now...eeeeaaaaasy does it..." Knuckles muttered, his brows furrowed as he slowly lifted the Master Emerald towards the stone platform. With Silver's assistance, he was able to lift the gem onto the gray slab without tripping or potentially dropping the gem. "Thanks." The echidna said after the emerald was carefully locked into place – ensuring it wouldn't roll or fall over. "Now that that's out of the way, we can worry about **Eggman**." He grumbled.

Upon exiting the hole, Silver turned to watch his companion cover the entrance with leaves and bushes once again – making it appear as if there was nothing but greenery. "So...what's our next move?" He asked, a smile finding its way on his lips. "Track down the others? Take the fight to Eggman?" The freedom fighter was growing excited, his mind wandering to all sorts of fanciful, heroic ideas. His line of questioning was met with a hearty chuckle from Knuckles.

"Haha...we run." The echidna said abruptly, his eyes flashing dangerously. Knuckles suddenly shoved Silver forward before sprinting into the jungle.

"Wha-!? Hey!" Silver cried, his eyes widening. Not wanting to be left behind, he ran after his companion, occasionally calling out to him while he gave chase. The hedgehog grunted and groaned as vines, branches, and other extensions from the foliage snagged and scratched at him – with his blistering speed, the impacts stung considerably. A few minutes after almost losing Knuckles to the darkened jungle, Silver managed to catch up to the bright-red echidna. "Sheesh, a little bit of warning would have been nice!" He panted.

"Sorry...I forgot you're not that fast!" Knuckles admitted. "Usually Sonic or Shadow would have caught up with me already." This statement caused Silver to roll his eyes.

"Well I've got...other strengths!" The hedgehog replied. "Now can you tell me why exactly we're running like this!?" He was forced to duck underneath a branch to avoid being hit directly in the face. Once he recovered, Silver glanced back at the echidna expectantly.

"Silver, think about it." Knuckles panted. "Eggman's forces are on the island and they know we have the emerald. Why do you **think** we're running for our lives right now!?" He asked. Silver paused for a moment, his brows furrowed. Other than to put distance between themselves and the Master Emerald's hiding place, he didn't find much incentive to run with such urgency. As he pondered the fact that Eggman's badniks knew they specifically had what they were looking for, however, the realization slowly crept on him.

_Master Emerald or not, they were being hunted._

Silver's ears perked up as he heard a rustling of foliage that wasn't immediately in his or Knuckles' path. He glanced towards the corner of his eye, and noticed that the shrubs and greenery to his left were shaking violently – following his movements. With the darkness of night and the speed in which they moved, the hedgehog wasn't able to gather many details about their pursuer.

That changed as Silver and Knuckles stumbled upon a clearing in the dense foliage – leaving them out in the open. They gladly accepted this, however, as it provided them an opportunity to give them some space away from whatever else was running with them in the jungle. Their decision to slide to a halt and turn to face whatever may have awaited them was quickly proven a mistake, however.

A series of glowing, bright yellow spearheads rocketed from the trees, darting straight towards both heroes at the center of the clearing. Knuckles – the first to stop on a dime and turn around – was able to see the projectiles coming. He managed to duck under the few that came his way, but the same couldn't be said for his companion. Silver cried in pain as the spears locked onto him shot into his back, sending the hedgehog stumbling forward and rolling across the ground.

"Silver! Are you okay!?" Knuckles gasped, his eyes widening. He watched with worry as his ally helped himself to his feet.

"I'm...fine…!" The hedgehog gasped, squinting one eye shut as he shook off the pain. "But...what was that!? That was a shot of energy – but it was way more potent than anything one of Eggman's badniks could have conjured up!" He glared back at where his back had been turned to when he was hit. Much to his dismay, he saw a few yellow, twinkling lights flash from behind the bushes. "Look out!" The boy cried, before ducking to the side. Both he and Knuckles were able to narrowly avoid a second wave of the spears – which moved faster than the ones before.

Another group of the light-based projectiles shot towards the duo – this time to their right. Silver was far too on edge to allow anything to sneak up on him, however, and immediately sensed the projectiles the moment they shot through the foliage. He turned to face the oncoming attack, and was able to force them to a halt with his psychic grasp. The hedgehog quickly realized the immense power each of the spears held as he fought to gain control over them.

"...Gah! Enough looming in the shadows. Come out and fight like a man!" Silver roared, spinning the spearheads around and shooting them back into the jungle. All was quiet in the clearing once the projectiles were sent flying away – with only the wind shaking the trees to serve as any kind of activity. Knuckles and Silver took the moment to regain their breath, their eyes wide.

"...If you insist..." A cold, harsh voice whispered into Silver's ear – sending chills down the hedgehog's spine. He made the mistake of spinning around to meet his adversary, which earned him a punch directly to the right cheek. His cries echoed throughout the area while he bounced off the ground and rolled through the grass. Silver forced himself to a halt, grunting in pain as he forced himself to look up at his attacker.

Standing just a few feet away from Knuckles was a dark-colored hedgehog, with red streaks lining his pointed quills. The hedgehog had an incredibly foreboding appearance, though this didn't seem to have any effect on his two opponents. His sudden appearance in general seemed to be what shocked them.

"Shadow, what the-? What are **you** doing here? And why are you attacking us!?" Knuckles demanded. Shadow simply rolled his eyes, before taking a swing at the echidna. His enemy was fortunate enough to hop backwards in time. "You've gotta be kidding me…! Now isn't the time for goofing off or sparring, man! There's more pressing matters at hand!"

"Humph...you're right about one thing." Shadow muttered. The hedgehog began stepping towards the echidna once again, though his hands were held at his sides this time. "You have pressing matters, and those pressing matters...are me." He gave the island's guardian a rather smug look, though that frown he bore never once twitched.

'What's going on…?' Silver thought to himself as he watched the two figures in the distance stare each other down. 'Why is Shadow here? There's no way he could have heard about Eggman's forces coming here! Unless...' The boy shook his head, before returning his attention to the situation placed before him.

"I don't have much time, Knuckles, so I ask that you be quick in giving me what I want." Shadow stated. He was calm in issuing his command – something that immediately got underneath the guardian's skin. Being issued an order in his home was the last thing he wanted to hear from his attacker. The dark hedgehog paid Knuckles' tensing up and bitter expression no mind, however. "Give me the Master Emerald. I know you've moved it from its usual resting spot, so you'll have to go retrieve it for me."

"Why, got some new scheme cooked up? Or is that bat girl serious about stealing it this time?" Knuckles questioned, his brows furrowing. He was certain the latter wasn't true, though his rapid heartbeat indicated he was fearful of the former being the case. "Either way, my answer will remain the same. No." His response caused Shadow to shake his head.

"Very well. If you won't tell me, then I'll simply have to force it out of you." He growled. While Shadow had been aware that the echidna was growing more and more restrained with each passing second, even he wasn't prepared for how quickly Knuckles could let loose when losing any sense of inhibition. Mere moments after Shadow had finished stating his claim, the echidna buried a fist into his chest – sending the hedgehog stumbling backwards.

"Not on your life!" Knuckles cried. He immediately attempted to follow up the attack with another punch – this one directed at the hedgehog's face – but found that his opponent had already put a considerable distance between them. "Lemme guess, then…! You're trying to use the Master Emerald to get back at Sonic? Are you guys having another falling out!?" The echidna demanded as he rushed forward. Shadow was able to dodge both of the hooks Knuckles tossed his way, requiring as little effort as simple head-tilts. "What about your old buddies at GUN? Did they decide they stopped caring about that agreement we made!?" Knuckles roared. He aimed to punch a hole through the hedgehog's head – but was punished with a swift punch to his own face.

"I work for no one, nor do my motivations have anything to do with getting back at _Sonic_." Shadow hissed. He dashed forward, before landing a few swift strikes against the echidna's chest. Knuckles was able to deal a counterattack – slamming one of his fists into Shadow's hands and sending them both stumbling backwards. Neither were ready to back down, however. Both opponents crouched down and began to charge their own spindashes. Knuckles' was stronger in terms of brute strength, made clear in how he tore through grass and dirt upon letting loose and charging forward, but Shadow's was far faster. The spinning hedgehog managed to circle around his enemy – allowing him to ram directly into the side.

"Gah!" Knuckles grunted as he rolled out of his spinball. This didn't stop his momentum, though, as he was sent rolling directly into a tree. The echidna was able to rise to his feet, but not before Shadow caught up to him and pinned him to the wooden surface. Purple eyes glared directly into red ones as both fierce fighters grimaced and growled at one another. "Alright, pinhead! Tell me what it is, then!" Knuckles shouted, desperately fighting for his freedom. Shadow used his forearm to pin the echidna by his throat – choking him slightly.

"...I have no desire to use the Master Emerald…" Shadow admitted. "...The doctor, however...he sees the gem as part of his plan." His words hung in the air, long after they were spoken. Knuckles' expression changed from one of anger to shock – before quickly reforming into one of anger once again.

"YOU LITTLE-!" Knuckles was only allowed to shout those few words before Shadow pressed harder onto his throat. The echidna sat there, struggling to breathe, as well as attempting to throw off his attacker. Panic began to course through him as he desperately fought to find some solution to his problem.

The echidna ultimately required the help of another to force Shadow off of him. "No!" Silver cried, running forward. Their opponent's eyes immediately shifted towards him, before he leaped out of the white hedgehog's range. Knuckles immediately slid to the ground. A groan escaped his throat after feeling the precious sensation of air flowing through his lungs once again. "Shadow, have you gone insane!?" Silver shouted at the enemy hedgehog, spreading his arms wide as he stood in front of his companion. "I've held back long enough. I didn't know what was going on at first, but what you just said confirms everything...you're siding with Eggman!"

"Indeed." Shadow replied coolly. He crossed his arms as he stared at Silver. "I'm not going to make excuses for myself, and I already didn't have time for your interference – let alone your prattling questions. What I'll say is this: I am indeed working with Doctor Eggman." The hedgehog then pointed at both of the struggling heroes. "And if you don't tell me where the Master Emerald is, I'll be forced to take greater action. Either give me the Master Emerald, or simply take me to it!"

"That's not going to happen!" Silver shouted. "I won't let you get your hands on that emerald...for Knuckles' sake, as well as my world's. You'll have to beat me senseless!" He claimed. This statement didn't seem to bother Shadow in the slightest.

"Humph. So be it." The older hedgehog growled. He hopped into a fighter's stance, and immediately darted towards Silver.

'...Uh oh…!' The younger hedgehog thought to himself. With Shadow approaching at such high speeds, all Silver could do was hold his hands out in front of him and hope for the best. He felt a wave of relief wash over him as a cyan-blue aura surrounded his opponent, stopping him in his tracks just moments away from when he would have dealt a punishing blow. That relief quickly diminished, however, when Silver realized his hold on relentless fighter lasted him only a few seconds – which wasn't nearly enough time for him to prepare himself in any significant way.

Suddenly, a fist rocketed into the side of Shadow's head, sending the hedgehog flying out of Silver's grasp and across the clearing. The white hedgehog turned to see Knuckles, his face a bright red. Knuckles' body rose and fell with each breath he took. His anger was evident. "Alright, Silver! It's fighting time!" He announced, bashing his fists together. Silver, perturbed by the normally lax echidna's rage, attempted to calm him down in the few moments they had. Shadow was quick to rush towards them once again, however, forcing them to act. "Feels just like old times – back when you were juts one of Eggman's goons. What, did we come full circle!?" Knuckles roar, running forward as well.

"Please! As if I'd need to justify myself to **you** of all people…!" Shadow grunted. His and Knuckles' fists met – sending waves of pain through both of their arms. Neither of the two refused to back down, choosing to double down in their effort to overpower the other. They threw another fist at one another, which provided them with similar results. "All you need to know is that you should stay out of my way!" He added, before hopping upwards and kicking Knuckles in the stomach.

"Oof!" The echidna gasped, stumbling backwards. Silver rushed forward to protect his companion from a follow-up attack. He attempted to hold Shadow where he stood, but the opposing hedgehog was quick. Knuckles and Silver watched as Shadow unleashed another series of yellow spears – which rocketed towards them. The moment the telekinetic hedgehog occupied himself by catching the projectiles, Shadow seized the opportunity and leaped into the air. After curling himself into a ball and lurching forward, he managed to homing-attack into Silver. "Cheap trick, jerk!" Knuckles growled after watching his companion land a few yards away.

Shadow ignored the quip, instead choosing to rush towards the echidna and aim a kick at his head. Roaring with anger, Knuckles suddenly bashed his fists against Shadow's feet – sending him flying back into the air. "I guess everything after what happened on the Ark doesn't matter, huh? Now that it isn't convenient for you!?" The echidna called. He leaped towards the hedgehog, before tackling him out of the sky and back to the ground. They rolled around for a few moments, exchanging punches between the constant shifts in weight and dominance. The two eventually found themselves on their feet once again – their hands locked in yet another power struggle. "You're just gonna turn your back on us for your own selfish reasons!?" In Knuckles' fit of anger, he failed to notice the momentary look of hurt in Shadow's eyes.

"Enough!" Silver shouted. The hedgehog managed to force himself to his feet once again. "Shadow, you need to knock it off! We're your friends – there isn't any reason to fight!" He insisted. His fellow hedgehog didn't take kindly to his peace offering. "Whoa! Whoa whoa whoa!" Silver cried as several more yellow spears were tossed his way. He ducked and dodged each one, resulting in only a few hairs being severed from his body. When Shadow attempted to homing-attack into the boy once again, Knuckles swooped in, punching the balled-up hedgehog out of the air.

Shadow grunted in pain as he hit the ground hard, before rolling backwards and hopping onto his feet. There he remained, silently staring down the echidna and hedgehog that stood a short distance away. The clearing was silent, save for the sound of three fighters gasping for breath ringing out in the night. Both sides seemed to take a moment to ponder what Silver had said.

Knuckles spent considerably less time listening to his companion's rhetoric than their opponent. He felt a white-hot anger course through him as he stared at the traitor before him – an anger that clouded any sense of judgment he possessed. What kept him in his place was not any sort of logic or emotion, but rather the exhaustion that was quickly threatening to drag him down. With the exertion of fighting his opponent paired with the damage he sustained in the battle, the echidna's body was far from ready to continue.

Silver watched the two, his heart sinking with each passing second. His mind spun with dozens of questions, all of which revolved around what was normally a trusted ally. He found it difficult to believe that Shadow was capable of siding with their greatest enemy, let alone willing. Yet there the imposing, dark-colored hedgehog stood, standing proudly as he glared back at them.

"...The doctor's plans do not necessarily revolve around the Master Emerald specifically." Shadow sighed, his gaze sharpening as he turned to lock eyes with Silver. "He simply wishes to keep the emerald out of your hands – a final resort in case you attempted to use the chaos emeralds..." The hedgehog averted his eyes for a moment. When he glanced back at the others once again, he seemed to have hardened his resolve. "I'll put an end to this exchange for now. As I said, I don't have time for you."

"What…?" Silver gasped. He watched with shock and dismay as Shadow spun around. Their newfound enemy began to walk away. "H-Hey…! Don't you dare turn your back on me!" The hedgehog cried, taking a threatening step forward. "Shadow, you can't run from this! We'll-" Upon hearing Silver voice any sort of protest, the opposing hedgehog spun around – releasing one final spear. This projectile was aimed directly at Silver's head, which forced him to drop to the ground to escape its line of fire.

With Knuckles crippled by his own exhaustion and Silver laying in the grass, Shadow saw the two as little threats. "I don't care to listen to you two rage against me any longer. I've already made my decision – now let me live with it in peace." He hissed, casting a harsh glare at Silver. "I'll chalk this up as you two getting away. The doctor will throw a fit, but that doesn't matter to me. You keep your precious emerald safe."

"You...bet I'm gonna...keep it safe…!" Knuckles huffed. "But I'm not gonna stop there...even if you walk away from us...you'll be seeing me again reeeeaaaaal soon." The echidna fell to one knee, before bashing a fist into the ground angrily. "I'll show you and Eggman why you don't come onto **my** island, thinking you can disturb the peace!" To his dismay, his threat didn't seem to mean much to Shadow.

"Yes, I was sure you'd say something along those lines." The hedgehog sighed. "...Listen. I feel obligated to tell you this. If you plan on surviving what's to come...you're better off staying on this island, avoiding Eggman entirely, and simply surrendering to his will. That is, again, if you wish to live past him claiming the world for himself…"

"Why is that?" Silver growled, his brows furrowed.

"...Tch, I thought I said I didn't have any time for you or your prattling questions." Shadow replied. He turned his back on the two one final time, before stepping towards the edge of the clearing. "The doctor has achieved something no one would have thought possible...and now, there's a force stronger than anything we've ever seen. Stronger than you, stronger than Sonic, stronger than even myself..." The hedgehog paused for a moment while he walked, his frown growing as he not only admitted his inferiority to whatever unnamed force he mentioned, but was reminded of a certain blue hedgehog. "...It's something I normally wouldn't admit, but...I fear he truly has no match. If you stand against him, you will surely perish."

"Shadow, wait!" Silver pleaded. A sense of pain ached in his chest as he watched their former friend finally return to the jungle, leaving him and Knuckles behind. The hedgehog watched the foliage rustle for a few moments, before turning back to look at his companion. "Oh, shoot! Knuckles!" He gasped. Silver immediately rushed towards the echidna. "Are you okay?" His questioning caused Knuckles to smile bitterly.

"Yeah, yeah...I'm fine. Getting knocked around a bit doesn't feel as good when you haven't slept in over a day." He admitted, grimacing as he brushed himself off. "But...what felt even worse was seeing...that." Knuckles added, nodding in the direction Shadow had made his exit. "I guess we found what was **actually** responsible for Eggman taking over. He's got a few helpers doing all the dirty work for him this time around."

"Yeah..." Silver muttered. After providing Knuckles the space he needed to regain his composure, the hedgehog stared down at his own hands. "...There's no doubt about it. Shadow must have played a part in the calamity that has led to the future I live in. He's...he's one of the people responsible for the destruction of my world!" He suddenly clenched his fists in a fit of anger.

"Well, all the more reason to go beat the tar out of Eggman and call it a day, right? If we stop Eggman, we stop Shadow." Knuckles grunted. The echidna was preoccupied with stretching his arms and legs, while also cracking his back. Upon noticing Silver's disdain, however, he realized that there was little he could do to console his companion with banter alone. "...Hey, don't think I haven't forgotten what you said. I'm gonna help you save your friends, okay?" He assured the hedgehog as he gingerly placed a hand on his shoulder. This seemed to resonate with Silver, as his expression softened slightly.

"Thank you...and you're right. We gotta let the others know about Shadow, but...we can't let this stop us or slow us down. Once we get a hold of Sonic, wrangling him in will be a breeze." Silver said, nodding towards his friend.

"Right you are...and I know just who to contact at a moment like this." Knuckles stated. He and Silver spun around and walked forward – moving in the direction opposite of Shadow. '...I'm still mad as can be, but...I have to pull myself together and ignore it for now. Just until I can get Silver and a few other people organized enough to teach Eggman a lesson.' The echidna thought to himself. 'Shadow, you better watch yourself. We may be friends, but all bets are off when you turn your back on us like this...figuratively and literally, that is.'

"Alright, Knuckles! We've hidden away the Master Emerald, and now Shadow's out of the picture...for now." Silver announced. He carried himself with gusto, as well as a greater sense of energy – most likely his attempt at lifting their spirits with sheer cheerfulness alone. He was met with a confused, yet entertained smile from his companion. "So...let's get moving! We've got all kinds of work to do. Let's get off of Angel Island!" The hedgehog suddenly sprinted forward – leaping into the jungle and out of sight in almost an instance.

Knuckles paused, his expression once again taking a more concerned look. He glanced around one of the many clearings that were dispersed throughout the forests of his homeland. While it had only been just a few hours prior that the echidna returned from one of his many adventures, armed with a bag full of shiny rocks, he felt as if days had passed since then. The sweet, humid air and jungle ambiance lulled him into a sense of peace that was taken from him in mere seconds. To make matters worse, he was now leaving that serenity once again – this time with the added weight of Shadow's sudden betrayal.

Angel Island's guardian took one final sweeping glance of the clearing, letting out a sigh as he did so. "...I'll be home soon. I promise." He said calmly, reaching down to pat the earth with his gloved hand. "As the protector of this place, and the Master Emerald as well...I will fulfill my duty...and help my friends." With his farewell to his home finally announced, the echidna leaped out of the clearing and into the foliage – chasing after Silver.


	6. Chapter 6

After what felt like an eternity of walking to the small pink hedgehog, Amy finally found an end to the long, winding tunnel that she had used to escape Station Square. She hadn't been entirely sure whether or not her eyes were deceiving her when she first noticed a lighter, blue-tinted space ahead of her during the first few minutes she could see a trace of the outside world, but that fact was made clear to her as she grew closer. Amy immediately picked up the pace – sprinting towards the end to the tracks.

"Yes…! Yes! Finally!" She gasped. Her voice was slightly hoarse – most likely from the yelling she had forced out of her vocal cords hours prior. 'This is it! Mystic Ruins!' The girl thought to herself with glee. Amy quickly broke out into a sprint, charging through what remained of the tunnel's suffocating path. Her heart pounded with excitement as the sound of rushing water and the chirping of crickets grew louder.

Amy nearly cried out with joy as the ceiling above her was replaced by the expansive, midnight-blue night sky. She spread her arms wide and began to spin around. "I never thought I'd see the outside again!" The girl cheered. Despite knowing the tunnel was her only safe bet on escaping the city without being captured, she couldn't help but despise being surrounded by the cold, despairing darkness. There was no greater feeling in that moment than the sound of nocturnal animals going about their business or the humid jungle air weighing down her dress.

The tunnel had led to a large maroon-colored steel bridge, which towered over the actual jungle below. A short distance away from where the tunnel ended and the bridge began was a large wooden tower – attached to the metal platform and providing a safe means of reaching the ground. Amy immediately raced towards it, and used the shaky staircase to finally leave the train tracks she had been forced to occupy for so long. "Man...it feels good to be outside! Here I was thinking I'd never see the light, er…the sky again." She said, almost forgetting it was night time in her euphoria.

With her feet on earth and the stars above her, the hedgehog felt reinvigorated once again. There was little holding her back from continuing her mission of contacting any of her friends. "Now...if I remember correctly, Tails' workshop is set up somewhere around here..." She mumbled quietly. Her eyes narrowed as she glanced around the area.

It didn't take long for Amy to spot her destination – resting high atop a rocky cliff in the distance. "There it is! I thought I remembered it being placed in a weird spot...Tails has a weird thing for heights!" The girl gasped. She immediately darted towards the workshop, her eyes focused solely on what was ahead of her. Awaiting her at the foot of the cliff was a set of stairs – which had been carved into the side of the rock and leading to a part of the cliff not far from the small metal home that belonged to her twin-tailed friend.

'Once I explain everything to Tails, I'm sure he'll let me come along and find Sonic. He's dragged me along for important stuff like this before...even if they **did** leave me behind with Eggman!' Amy thought to herself, revisiting a particularly unpleasant memory she experienced during one of her adventures. "Actually, now that I think about it...my first real adventure on my own started out just like how it did today...what a horrible trip down memory lane..."

Upon reaching the top of the stone steps and stepping onto the cliff itself, Amy took a moment to regain her composure. Running up the long set of stairs had caused her to quickly grow fatigued. "Phew!" She gasped, wiping some sweat from her brow. "You couldn't have installed some fans on the staircase, Tails?" The hedgehog mumbled to herself as she resumed her walk.

Tails' workshop was a short distance away from Amy. She noticed that another, much smaller set of stairs led to the part of the cliff the metal shack rested atop. The platform Amy stood atop, however, was far wider – requiring the hedgehog to dedicate a few moments of fast-paced walking to cross it and reach her destination.

Just as the stairs leading to the workshop were only a few feet away from her, the girl was forced to a halt when the impact of a large, heavy object behind her left the ground beneath her shaking. Amy let out a cry as she stumbled forward, before procuring a hammer out of nowhere and using the weapon to catch herself. She immediately forced herself to a halt – preventing the girl from falling face-first into the stone steps.

Turning around to see what had caused Amy to trip quickly proved to be a poor choice for the hedgehog. Resting just a few yards away was a large, gray, steel-plated robot. The mech was curled up in a ball, most likely to soften the blow for its limbs, but this quickly changed once its small eyes flickered to life. Amy watched in horror as the robot rose to its feet, proving it towered well over her head. It too had a hammer, which it retrieved from seemingly nowhere and swung at the air in preparation.

"Egg Hammer...great." Amy mumbled, her eyes shimmering in fear as she gripped her own, much smaller hammer tightly. She thinned her frown and wiped the sweat from her face. "Okay, fine! B-Bring it on, then!" She called. The hedgehog immediately raced forward, readying her weapon to strike. Her opponent glared at her for a moment, before winding back and holding its hammer of its head.

With a cry the small pink hedgehog rolled to the side to avoid a vertical swing from the robot. She watched with wide eyes as the head of the enemy hammer sunk into the ground, flinging dirt and rocks across the area. One small rock rocketed into her shoulder, causing her to flinch. "O-Ow!" Amy gasped, placing a hand over her stinging flesh. She wasn't allowed to wallow in her minor injury, however, as the egg hammer immediately got to work attacking once again. The robot clung to its weapon with both hands, before spinning around wildly. Its enemy was forced to fall onto her backside and scramble away to avoid her head being knocked off its shoulders.

After nearly half a minute of watching the robot spin around wildly with its weapon, Amy was rewarded for her patience. The egg hammer suddenly tripped over a piece of rubble it created with its first strike, resulting in it nearly falling over. There the massive robot stood – fighting to regain its balance. "Humph! Maybe you'll think twice before you kick up rock like that again!" Amy cried, leaping into the air. She immediately swung at the air with all of her might, before releasing her hammer and sending it flying towards her opponent.

Amy's aim was true, and her weapon slammed into the shins of the egg hammer, resulting it in falling onto its back. The ground shook as the robot slammed against the earthy flooring, though this went entirely unnoticed by Amy – who landed a few short moments later. She immediately sprinted forward, picking up her hammer as she ran directly towards the robot. Both the hedgehog and the enemy robots' eyes widened as she bashed the head of her weapon into its head – causing the mech to spasm uncontrollably.

Recovery for the egg hammer was rather short after being assaulted by the pink menace. It immediately forced itself to its feet, and glared towards her with a newfound malice. The girl seemed to always know how to make an enemy out of badniks. "Hey, don't give me attitude! I thought you were supposed to be the strong, silent type!" Amy called from a distance, weighing her hammer on her shoulder. "But I guess if you could talk, you'd be the stupid type, huh?"

Instigating and chiding the robot was the last thing Amy wanted to do, but the girl seemed incapable of controlling herself in the moment. All the anger she felt from her inability to help those at Station Square, the stress of fleeing for her own safety, and her disappointment from seeming to never escape Eggman's forces, all pushed her to the brink of pure anger. She hurled childish insults at the robot, which only further angered it.

While in the midst of flinging yet another rude remark in her opponent's direction, Amy was shocked to see the egg hammer suddenly charged towards her – moving faster than what its heavy metallic body normally wouldn't allow. Regret quickly replaced anger as the hedgehog realized she had made a major mistake. She cried out and rolled between the legs of her attacker as it swung a fist where she once stood. Simply dodging the fist wasn't enough, however, as the girl's opponent erratically swung around in the hopes of hitting her. Amy was forced to crawl away as quickly as she could.

'What do I do? This thing just won't let up for a second!' Amy thought to herself. She rolled forward, narrowly avoiding another vertical swing from the egg hammer while building up enough momentum to leap to her feet. The girl immediately spun around, before tossing her hammer at the badnik. To her surprise, the attack seemed to work to some degree, as the robot flinched and stumbled backwards.

Unfortunately, Amy made a grave mistake in the heat of battle. In her eagerness to retrieve her only means of defense, which she had thrown at her opponent so carelessly, the girl stepped just within the robot's range. After grabbing her weapon out of the air, the hedgehog turned and watched as the head of the egg hammer's own weapon raced towards her. There was no avoiding the attack – there wasn't enough time. All Amy could do was cry out in fear and hold her hammer out in front of her.

The hedgehog was sent rocketing backwards as the badnik slammed its hammer into her. Amy cried out in pain each and every time she bounced off the rocky ground, before sliding through the dirt and roughly hitting a wooden gate. "Gah-! N-No!" Amy cried, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Her arms and legs shook as she attempted to pull herself off the ground. Try as she might, however, the poor girl wasn't quick enough to escape her attacker's pursuit in time.

There the egg hammer stood, suddenly looming over the recovering girl. Its eyes gleamed dangerously as it stared her down – sizing her up one final time before crushing her to bits. Amy watched with dismay as the robot raised its hammer over its head. She so desperately wanted to escape – to at least be able to fight back against her attacker enough to escape. Were she to move at all, however, she knew it would only take moments for the robot to finish her off. Her still on the ground didn't make her reacting any easier, either.

With what little dignity she had left, she glared up at the badnik in defiance. 'Sonic...I'd be embarrassed if you saw me like this.' Amy thought to herself. She clenched her fists as she continued to stare into the egg hammer's eyes. 'But I'd feel even more pathetic if I didn't do what you'd do at a moment like this...so I'll let this jerk know he'll have to go all the way to beat me!'

Amy's eyes widened as she inhaled a sizable amount of air. "Bring it on, ugly! Take the shot!" She cried. Her antagonizing the robot immediately set it off, which resulted in the egg hammer swinging down at the hedgehog one final time. Amy simply watched it move, waiting for the right moment to act.

Suddenly, the egg hammer found itself incapable of swinging at Amy any further than it already had. Its weapon-using arm seized up, slowly moving backwards while the robot fought to finish the hedgehog off. After realizing something was wrong, and that it wasn't capable of following through with the act, the badnik glanced towards its limb. To both it and Amy's confusion, what appeared to be several yards of fishing line was wrapped around the robot's arm – a bright-yellow and red bobber dangling from the end.

Upon glancing back to see what could have possibly assaulted its body with the trinket, the robot was surprised to find another person had wandered onto the platform. As the egg hammer spun around to combat this new threat, Amy was able to peek at them. Joy and a sense of relief surged through her as she realized that her savior had come in the form of a large, heavy-set purple cat. She watched the feline tug on a fishing rod in his hands – most likely attempting to pull the robot away.

'Oh, thank goodness, it's Big!' Amy thought. She immediately rose to her feet, calling out to him and waving. The hedgehog was immediately met with a lazy but friendly wave from her rescuer in return. "This tin can is in for it, now! Show him what's up, Big!" She cried.

"Hey! Don't hurt my fwends!" The large cat cried – his voice deep and slow. He tugged as hard as he could on the fishing line without snapping the bamboo pole in half, hoping to overpower the badnik attacking his companion. "Leave her awone!" His opponent's metal body groaned as it attempted to pull back. There the two large foes stood, quietly struggling with their formidable strength. One had an advantage over the other, however, which was made all the more evident moments later.

"Alright! This is what you get for messing with the **wrong** girl!" Amy cried as she forward. With a cry she threw herself in the air, lunging towards the robot while brandishing her hammer. A loud crunch echoed throughout the area – caused by the hedgehog bashing the head of her weapon against the badnik's face. This resulted in several screws and chips flying from her opponent's tiny head. The robot would have felt fortunate in the attack not resulting in a complete beheading, were it not for the fact that a sudden forceful tug from Big ripped its arm from the mech's body.

Another strike from Amy's hammer sent the wounded robot falling to the ground once again. His crash-landing caused the rock to shake, though that did little to stop Amy and Big in their tracks. "Alright, Big! Finish that creep off!" The pink hedgehog cried, pointing her weapon at the badnik. Her large, purple companion nodded eagerly, and dropped his fishing rod as he quickly waddled towards it.

"Here we goooo!" Big cried, before using his momentum to leap into the air. The cat soared over the world, his shadow slowly overbearing the body of the egg hammer. Much to the badnik's horror, Big came to a stop just above the metallic body. As he descended, the large feline spread his arms and legs wide, ensuring his body would hit as much as possible.

The belly-flop that ensued from the fat cat immediately caused the egg hammer to shatter into hundreds of pieces. Its remaining arm and legs rocketed out of place, and the nearly-unhinged head was flung into the jungle below. Big simply bounced back into the air, where he curled up into a ball and spun around while he returned to the ground. He landed without any issue – landing perfectly on his feet.

"Nice one! I knew cats always landed on their feet..." Amy huffed as she approached her companion. The girl reached behind her back and returned her hammer to whatever invisible realm it was kept in, before looking up at the cat. "Well, thanks to you, I'm not some stain outside of Tails' crummy little lab...thanks, Big!" She chuckled, patting his belly affectionately. This earned her a low-pitched purr from the cat.

"Hmmm…! I'll always help you out, Amy!" Big hummed. He slapped a hand of his own against his belly, causing a proud thud to ring throughout the area. "I'm so happy I ran into you. I didn't think you'd be awound here..." He admitted, scratching at his head in confusion.

"Yeah, same to you! What are you doing around these parts, and not deeper in the jungle? You don't normally come out of there unless me or Cream call you..." Amy questioned, placing her hands on her hips as she gave him a quizzical look. To her dismay, the hedgehog found that upon hearing her line of questioning, Big's face became crestfallen.

"I came here looking for Fwoggy...he's missing again..." He announced, his ears drooping sadly. Amy covered her mouth with her hands in shock – prompting Big to elaborate. "He got snatched up by a wobot...and they took him away...I don't know where!" The cat explained, growing more dejected by the second. "Fwoggy…? Where are yoooouuuu?" Big suddenly called, glancing around the area.

"I'm sorry, Big." Amy sighed. The girl felt a wave of sadness wash over her as she averted her eyes. Big and Froggy were a nigh-inseparable pair of best friends – spending most of their days casually fishing in the jungles outside of Station Square. For the two to be separated, in Amy's eyes, was a cruel injustice. "Eggman's at it again...he sicked his robots and a bunch of battleships on the city. I had to run through the train tunnels just to get here!" She added.

"Noooo!" Big gasped, his eyes widening. "That's no good! Is the bad man the reason Fwoggy is missing…?" He asked.

"I'm pretty sure. His robots were grabbing people and taking them away. I think that's what they did to Froggy, too...I'm certain." Amy replied. She watched with dismay as Big's demeanor became one of even more sadness. "Hey...it's gonna be okay, Big. I'll try and help you get him back the best I can." The hedgehog assured him, patting the cat on his arm.

"You will…?" Big asked, his ears perking up slightly.

"Of course. That's what friends are for, yeah?" Amy said, providing him with a warm, sincere smile. "But...we're gonna have to reunite all of Team Rose if we wanna get him back!" She explained. The cat cocked his head to the side, and scrunched up his face as he pondered over what the hedgehog could have meant. After a few moments of thoughtful silence, his ears perked up fully.

"Ohhhhh! You mean **her**!" He gasped. The cat seemed to suddenly grow incredibly eager. "Hooooray! Okay, let's go!" Big cheered.

"Alright! Let's go get Tails to give us a ride!" Amy giggled. She immediately tugged on Big's arm, before she and her companion darted towards and scrambled up the steps leading to the nearby workshop. Just outside the building was a large, circular basin with machinery hard at work within it, the display distracting Big while Amy approached the door.

"Tails? Tails, are you there!?" Amy called as she bashed her fist against the metallic front door. Silence reigned supreme over the area after the echoes of her knocks died out. She was met with no response from within the workshop after a second series of knocks, though that didn't seem to stop her, as she dared to try for a third time. After waiting for the first few minutes following her obnoxious attempts at summoning the fox, Amy let out a sigh of defeat.  
"Big...a little help?" She called as she gestured to the door, pulling Big out of his stupor. The cat slowly lumbered over to her side, before staring at the door. "On the count of three, I'm gonna need you to knock open the door, okay?" Amy explained. She was relieved to see that her companion was quick to nod agreeably. "Okay. One…! Two…! Three…!"

The door to Tails' workshop was immediately ripped from its hinges, as Big stormed into the building immediately after hearing Amy say the final number. He watched, disinterested, as the large iron slab flew across the garage. "Yikes! B-Big, that was...incredible, actually!" The hedgehog admitted. "You sure you haven't been working out?" She teased, lightly tapping his arm with a fist. Her quip was met with a happy chuckle from the cat.

As the two entered the workshop and investigated the area, they quickly found that the person they had come to find was nowhere to be seen. Several workbenches were dispersed throughout the relatively large room, with tools and parts scattered atop each one. The area was far from organized, though that could have been a sign that the shop's owner had left the building in a hurry.

"That's just great, **another** boy bailing out on me when I need them!" Amy cried. She crossed her arms and kicked at the metal floor bitterly. "Where the heck is he? Is he with Sonic? What are they up to!?" The hedgehog sighed in frustration. She turned her back on Big, allowing her to glare at the wall. "This isn't fair...now we're just gonna have to take the **long way** around!"

Big listened to Amy's complaints. He was receptive of her feelings of disappointment, but the cat's insistent need to search for his pollywog pal forced him to always remain curious and exploring. Despite wishing to respect Tails' privacy and maintain some sense of politeness, Big wandered around the garage, peering at schematics and blueprints pinned to the walls, the various mechanical parts strewn across the floor, and even the obscure objects and inventions that were tucked away or hidden out of plain sight.

The exploration of Tails' workshop came to a head when Big approached the last piece of interest to him. Resting in the center of the garage, positioned directly in front of the massive iron double doors that led to what Amy knew was a runway, was a large tarp – which was cast over some sort of object. Whatever it held beneath it dwarfed even the massive cat.

"Heeeyyy...what's dis…?" Big asked, regaining Amy's attention. The hedgehog spun around just in time to see the cat grab a hold of the tarp, before ripping it away from whatever it hid. Both cat and hedgehog stared in awe at what they found.

Awaiting them beneath the tarp was what appeared to be a brand-new plane – given a sleek, modern decide with a silver paint-job. The vehicle was intact from what either of the two could tell, and both were quite relieved to find that the cockpit was capable of holding more than one person – even expansive enough to fit someone as large as Big. This was definitely not the Tornado, the boy's signature plane.

"Hey..." Amy suddenly said, glancing towards her companion. "You don't think...Tails would mind letting us take this? B-Borrowing, of course!" She added, watching as the cat cocked his head to the side confusedly. "This is an emergency, right? We could totally chalk this one up to emergency..." Big blinked at her a few times, unsure of what to think. Was it truly right to take Tails' plane, which was most likely some sort of prototype? If not, would Amy be able to bear the guilt of stealing such an important project?

The doors to the outside world slowly began to open – allowing moonlight to spill into the room. The soft, blue-tinted illumination glinted off the shiny silver paint of the prototype plane, which roared to life as it rolled out onto the earthy runway. Several red, green, and yellow lights appeared along the sides of the flat surface – creating a clear and distinct path for the aircraft.

Sitting in the pilot's seat was Big the Cat, his hands grasping the controls to the vehicle tightly. Secured over his head was a large brown pilot's helmet, accompanied by a white scarf that was wrapped around his neck. From the front, his form entirely blocked any view of Amy, who sat in the passenger's seat.

"Uh...Big? I know you said you've flown one of Tails' planes before...but are you sure this is really a good idea?" She called – her voice loud enough to be heard over the purr of the aircraft's engines. Big glanced back at her for a moment, before nodding quietly. He then pulled the goggles of the helmet down – fastening them over his eyes. "Great! Great...Glad to know you're confident!" Amy shouted. As much as she didn't want to die in a tragic plane crash, she knew time was of the essence. More importantly, she didn't want to hurt the cat's feelings by suggesting they find some other means of transportation.

"Alright! Here we gooooo!" Big called. The cat immediately sent the plane rolling forward – picking up speed with each passing second. Amy felt her heart sink as she watched the edge of the cliff grow frighteningly near. In a last bid to offer herself any sort of assurance, the hedgehog secured her body to the seat by fastening her seat belt.

Yet despite all attempts at keeping her cool, Amy couldn't help but scream at the top of her lungs as she, Big, and the plane were thrown from the cliff – sent racing into the air. She squeezed her eyes shut, sending one final goodbye to her beloved Sonic in her mind as she prepared for a watery impact. The hedgehog took a deep breath in preparation.

After observing that there had been no change in the direction of wind after the first few seconds of air-travel, Amy slowly opened her eyes and glanced around. To her shock, and most certainly to her delight, she and Big were flying over the ocean – the light of the moon gleaming in her eyes. "Oh, yes! Thank goodness, we're gonna make it!" She cheered, pumping her fists into the air. "Er...I mean, we're gonna make it **on time**! I knew you could fly this thing the whole time..." The girl stated, correcting herself after remembering she didn't want to hurt Big's feelings.

"Okay, Big! Next stop – Cream's house! Up, up, and away!" Amy cried, pointing ahead.

"Yaaaay! Here we go again!" Big cheered. To celebrate the occasion and to express his own cheery mood, the cat began to swerve the plane through the air – performing a few sloppy tricks. This caused Amy to immediately cry out in protest. Her and Big's plane immediately righted itself after a few minutes of panicked pleading from the pink hedgehog.

The two flew into the night – heading towards a world unknown, and with a single goal in mind. They would find their friends, both those who were already suffering under Eggman's wrath, and those who had yet experienced the violence heading their way. Team Rose was on its way to a grand reunion, as far as Big and Amy were concerned.

_What neither were expecting, however, was that their meeting would be far less joyful than they had hoped or anticipated. _

**Hello once again! Firstly I want to thank those who have read, reviewed, favorited, and followed the story so far! Its only been a few chapters posted and I've already seen so much activity and positive reception. Your support and thoughts have been appreciated, as they gave me the incentive and reason to continue. **

**Next, I wanted to answer a few questions and meet some concerns I've received in the reviews.**

**"Will there be shipping in this story?"  
-My apologies to anyone who was looking forward to/expecting a significant romantic developments in this plot, because I currently do not have that planned in the story. I wanted this to remain mostly in line with a Sonic game's plot and spirit, and romance generally isn't something explored in the games. If there is any sort of romantic pairing established in the story, it will not involve canon characters. While I want to expand on the personality and character of these classic figures, romance and shipping is a boundary I'm not comfortable crossing. HOWEVER, there are some characters whose chemistry with others have a large foundation in flirty/romance-chasing behavior, and this will not be ignored in the story. If you like a certain ship that's largely founded in the games, you still might get something out of this here.**

"**Will Tails still be just as (useless) in the story?"**

**-Fortunately for you Tails fans, Sonic's sidekick won't be totally useless and a spineless coward! Yes that may be harsh, but let's be honest, he wasn't particularly heroic in Forces...or brave...or smart...or really all that helpful…**

**Point being, Tails could have had more of a presence in Forces, and that's going to happen here. Without spoiling too much, what I will say is that Tails will have a major role in the story. He will be sharing a lot of plot points and moments that the Custom Hero had in the original story with other canon characters and OC. Expect to see action from him!**

**And here are some clarifications I want to make, as I know these may also be concerns.**

**"What about the custom hero?"  
-As I briefly mentioned in the question regarding Tails, the custom hero from Sonic Forces will be a split between Tails and a collection of other canon characters, as well as original characters! Of course their story arcs will be entirely different from the custom hero's, but they will fulfill their role in key scenes featured in the game. The amount of main character original characters you'll see in this story will be low, as I don't want to overbear the plot with original characters that may or may not resonate with the audiences. This is a Sonic story, after all.**

"**Will Classic Sonic be in the story?"**

**-Classic Sonic will not have the same role he did in the original story. HOWEVER, that does not mean Classic Sonic won't be tied to the Forces plot at all. I also plan on revising and reimagining the relationship between the Mania world and the modern Sonic world in this specific plot. But again, he will not have the same role as before. **

**These are just a few concerns I would have myself when hearing that someone would attempt at rewriting Sonic Forces, so I thought I'd make a statement on those subjects here. Thank you once again for reading, and I hope you can continue more Sonic Forces content to come!**


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